three year tourist

family blog is up and running

2008-06-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

For the sake of ease, we've combined all our blogs into one family blog, and will be catching up with all our friends over there from now on. So change your Bloglines links, and make sure to comment!

fat squirrels and other observations

2008-06-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

Old things are new again. After living in India for 3 years, random things shock us about the US:

Luggage carts in the airport are $3! A piece!! They were free in India. But I guess if you count the man following you and asking for a tip, then they weren't really free in India, either.
American squirrels are fat! Well...compared to Indian chipmunks, anyway. They're probably just normal sized, but to our eyes, it seems we went away for 3 years and came back to obese squirrels.
Driving fast is still weird for me. Before last week, I hadn't driven at all in 3 years. Sometime around January, no kidding, I started having nightmares about driving again. I haven't driven on I-45 yet because I'm still scared, but I have gotten up to 50 mph, which is progress.
It's fun to walk in the neighborhood and not be on alert for cars, bikes, carts, rickshaws, etc, that will not stop or even slow down for you.
People make small talk! I never thought Indians were rude (except when the aunties wouldn't smile at me after I smiled at them...that would bother me) and I never noticed that they don't make small talk. Maybe I just never expected it because we don't share the same first language. But here, everyone makes small talk, which is something we noticed immediately upon arriving in the Newark airport.
The sky is blue again! I never thought Delhi was a dirty city (and still don't) but the grass was definitely not as green, nor was the sky as blue. So even though people don't seem to wear as bright of colors or paint their homes in fun shades, at least we get to see a more vivid color in nature.
It takes no time at all to run errands. On Friday, James and I dropped Hazel off with Nana, bought cell phones, signed up for service (at an AT&T shop that was 40 minutes away), went clothes shopping, and returned home. I was shocked to see that it was barely noon.

There are plenty other observations, but it's time for Hazel and me to go run all over town for errands and be done probably faster than it takes to mail a letter in Delhi.

the great flat search of 2005

2008-05-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Shelah did a fun blog about some doozy homes they looked at recently while house searching. I laughed a lot at it because it also brought back some scary memories of when we were apartment searching here in South Asia. I couldn't find the pictures from our Capital search, but I still had some pics from when we were searching in the Himalayas.

This was the first flat we saw. We loved it! Except...the location. It was literally a walk down three steep hills to get there! We even went back to look at it again just in case the walk there wasn't as bad as we remembered...but it was. We even liked the pink walls. haha You gotta take what you can get here. And the bathrooms were fun. I have a theory with the bathrooms here - they are almost always odd colors with a lot of printed tiles. I think the bathroom is their room to experiment with decorating. Our current home has camels in one bathroom...I love it! Who else can shower and see camels trotting by?

Another place we looked at had a huge mold/mildew problem on the walls. Pretty much every wall had some mildew on it. We expressed our concern about this, and received the typical South Asian reply: "Take no tension, we will paint over it."

Also, here's another fun bathroom picture. As you can see from the picture, this place was super nice. Unfortunately it was way too expensive. And it was so loaded down with furniture we could barely move through the apartment, but they wouldn't take any pieces out! We saw a total of 8 available flats, and were told these were all they had. Fortunately, one a bit more suitable miraculously became before we had to move into one of these.

Check out some of the fun kitchens we saw:Where does this kitchen window lead to? It's a mystery.

Check out these half Western half squatty potties! If you are used to sitting, you can sit on the lid, but if you are more inclined to squat, you can stand on the ridged foot part! (The second one was actually in the home we lived in :)

Most of the places we looked at, even if they were already vacant, had a spot for po0ja (or id0l w0rship).

One thing most of the flats did have was a pretty awesome view!

random photos

2008-05-13T23:42:00.000-07:00

I have some random pictures that I don't think I've ever posted before, with a few random facts thrown in.

This is a child's school bus! A lot of times you'll see a cart go by with children locked in a cage, on their way to school. Doesn't sound quite safe to me. I like it that this one is called "Jingle Bell."

You see people carry the most random things on their scooters, bikes, rickshaws, you name it. Last night I commented to some friends that I have a funny picture of a man carrying a computer on a scooter. At least 2 others piped in, "I have a picture like that too!" Here's mine...I was wrong though, he's on a cycle rickshaw.

The largest m0sque in the country is in our city, and we visited it last year. Here is a picture from it. The construction was completed in 1626, and can hold 10s of thousands of men at the appointed times.

Most auto rickshaw's will have stickers on their windshields. Sometimes you'll see Bollywood stars, sometimes pictures of their favorite g0d(s). This one sadly lumped in ours with it - he's trying to cover all the bases.

Every now and then, you'll see trees with marigolds and pictures of g0ds up against them. I'm not sure why these particular trees get w0rshipped, but they do. This one is on our street.

And lastly, as many of you know, this culture is very modest. No kissing in movies, and definitely no kissing in public. So many times, young people will sneak off to gardens alone together. Yesterday, Andrea took our family to these cool old ruins to take some family pictures. (she ROCKS!) Anyway so we caught these two there together (and it was before 10am!!). I guess they also go to the old ruins to make out? I guess if you're gonna disobey the parents, you should do it in style? :)

what i'll miss

2008-05-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

I have grown to love many things about this culture that I'm living in, and I am really going to miss a lot of it when we leave in just a couple weeks. Obviously, the relationships we have made I will miss the most, and not only with the nationals we've met. When you pick up and move to the other side of the world, you form an incredible bond with other like-minded people who have also left their 'home' country as well. You become family. So now our hearts are divided in that are hard to explain, but certainly easy to feel.

Like I said, I'm going to miss so much, so I thought a top 10 was in order. Like the one I did about what I'm looking forward to, I'm not putting the obvious one of family and friends. That's already a given!

Top 10 Things I'll Miss the Most About South Asia:

10. The mangoes! Oh you wouldn't believe how good the mangoes are here in season. And not just the fresh ones (which are incredible), but you can also always find mango juice, mango popsicles, mango ice cream...I don't even know if you can get such fresh mangoes in the US. I sure hope so!

9. Cheap Indian Food! I know in the US you can get Indian food, and it can even be good quality and authentic. However, I've heard it's usually super expensive. The Indian restaurant here I will miss the most has a dish called Veg Thali - it comes with enough food to feed you for at least two meals, if not 3, it's oh so delicious, and it's only $2.50. Oh, and they deliver. Naturally. Which takes me to the next one...

8. Deliveries! I've posted about it before - I love how everyone delivers here. I'm going to really miss that!

7. Creativity and contentment! I'll admit, sometimes it's a pain, but because lots of conveniences aren't available here, you have to get creative. This includes with recipes, recreation, decorating, daily life, you name it. You always feel a sense of accomplishment when you've cooked something that you had to substitute 5 items in. And when you have less options, it's easier to feel contentment.

6. Easily accessible health care! Can you imagine a world where you walk into a modern hospital, with no appointment, stroll to the receptionist and pay (with no insurance card) $12 to see a doctor, wait for 5 minutes, and the well-educated doctor calls you into his/her office? Then if you need any medicine, you go to your local pharmacist, spend pennies on your meds without even needing a prescription? And if you have any later questions, you just call your doctor up on their mobile phone? This is the exact nature of medical care in the Capital. I'm sooooo gonna miss this.

5. The wallahs! Remember my mom blogged about the wallahs - the men and women who provide services or sell things for a very small price. The press wallah who irons your clothes, the fruit wallah who walks by your house and sells you fresh fruit, etc. What is husband going to do without his press wallah? His wife sure doesn't iron like that!

4. The hospitality! South Asians are notoriously hospitable. I couldn't even begin to tell you the number of times a woman and I have exchanged just a few words of small talk and she invites me into her home. They take pride in treating their guests like royalty - offering chai, sweets, food, and comfort. You always feel like you have made their week by visiting their home.

3. Bollywood! I love getting into a taxi or auto rickshaw and the driver turns on the radio to popular Bollywood music. Or sitting in a coffee shop that plays Bollywood music videos, or going to the gym and watch Bollywood movies while working out. Bollywood is so unique and so fun, and I'm going to miss how everywhere it is here!

2. Interesting life! It's hard to find a title to sum up the interesting day-to-day things you see here in the Capital. Opening your front door and seeing cows sitting at your gate is always fun. Or when they walk by mooing. That's cool too. Or driving down the road and you see an elephant plodding along beside you, or camels. The park we walk in has wild peacocks that cross our path. I like to chuckle at signs that are so funny (usually unintentionally), and the crazy way people drive or sell. Like the balloon wallah who rides his bike on busy streets, loaded down with dozens of balloons. And I'll definitely miss seeing all sorts of history on a daily basis. An old fort built centuries ago, or a bridge, or a tomb. It's fascinating.

1. The bargains! This is a no-brainer. The markets are a fun experience in themselves, what with the sights, sounds, and smells. (not all bad, mind you :) But then getting a great deal on something like jewelry, clothes, shoes, or home decorations...man! I am definitely going to miss the bargains.

you are what you wear (kind of)

2008-05-04T02:51:00.001-07:00

Although it may not seem like it at first arrival into this foreign land, the women in South Asia have a lot of variety in the way they dress. And I don't just mean the colors. My friend, Chrissy, asked on the other blog if it's hard to wear a sari, and I thought it might make an interesting blog to some of you.

The picture above has several styles of clothing represented. On the right half of the picture, you see two women wearing salwar kameez suits. A salwar kameez consists of three pieces - a long shirt (kurta), a pair of baggy pleated pants with tapered ankles (salwar) and the scarf piece (dupatta). The salwar pants are usually one size fits all at the waist because they are drawstring. But you usually have to take them to the tailor anyway to get the length you want, and sometimes get them taken in a little. They are very comfy. Usually, the dupatta and the salwars match each other, with a coordinating kurta to complete the look.

The dupatta, by the way, should almost always be worn with a suit if you want to stay modest. That's because it represents the woman's virtue, and you stand out pretty big time if you don't have on a dupatta with your suit. You don't play with your dupatta, men should never touch it, and it shouldn't drag on the ground. Unfortunately, they are very annoying, because they slip off easily and also are pretty hot. Husband calls them stupattas. I would agree.

The woman in pink is wearing a suit also, but instead of salwar pants, she has on tight legged pants called churidars. Her kurta is also longer than what you normally see in the Capital and other cities in the north. I'm not sure if she chose this for stylistic reasons, or because she is from a different state.

The woman in green is of course wearing a sari (or saree). I posted about it before that there are several ways to tie sarees based on the region you are living in or the design of the saree. This woman looks to have hers tied in the traditional way. Saris are very difficult to tie and wear, but they are definitely fun and flatter most figures. Since they are 6-9 meters of fabric, they are obviously heavy. Not only that, but South Asian women can spot a cheap sari a kilometer away, and I've been told that we foreign women look odd when we walk in saris. That is probably true, because they can be very awkward! Underneath a sari is what is called a petticoat, which is basically a straight long drawstring skirt. It has to be drawstring and it has to be tied tightly. (not good if you have flab you'd rather camouflage!) Also, a short top ("blouse") that is tailor made is worn under the sari as well. Let me see if I can sum up the traditional tying process into one sentence: you wrap the sari around once, tucking it into your petticoat along the way, then take it and fold in 10-15 or so pleats, tuck that big piece under your naval and attach with a safety pin, then wrap the sari around one more time, this time under the right armpit, across the chest, and then over the left shoulder. Whew. Keep in mind, the pleats have to be just so, as well as the length of the sari. Stylish sarees are worn long, and cause lots of tripping. Add in heels, heavy fabrics with heavier embroidery, and sucking in your tummy the whole time, and there you have why South Asian women think we walk strangely when wearing sarees.

Some women wear burqas, like in the picture to the right. (notice there is also a woman in green, wearing what you now know is a salwar kameez) Because the culture is very modest, most women will do their exercises in salwar kameez suits. The men will be out jogging in shorts (which they never wear any other time) but the women are still out power walking with their suits, dupattas, and tennis shoes. I even saw women in suits at the gym that I went to last year! However, clothing tends to be more modern in big cities, especially with the younger generations and in the "posher" areas of town.
And then for fancy occasions, women will sometimes wear a long skirt with a top and a dupatta, altogether called a lehenga. The traditional bride will wear a lehenga. If the woman wears a short top with spaghetti straps, that is a choli, and I've only seen this in Bollywood. I'm sure the super modern women wear them as well, though.

Something interesting is that women will even swim in their suits or sarees. Or wear swimming costumes. (Andrea will probably be blogging about that soon!) A 50-something Auntie I know went parasailing in a beach city down south a few years ago. I have never seen her in anything besides a sari, so I asked if she wore a sari while parasailing. She laughed and said something like, "Oh goodness no. Obviously, I wore a suit." She thought the question was ridiculous - of course she wouldn't wear 6 meters of fabric and a petticoat ; for water sports, it is far more practical to wear baggy pants, a knee-length shirt, and a scarf. (said with a facetious tone, of course :)

When I first moved here, I couldn't tell the difference between village-y fashion, upper class fashion, fancy or every day suits. My friend Priya even once told me that my fashion sense was pretty bad. (said in what she thought was a very helpful way!) Now I can usually recognize cheap from expensive, or North from South, but not always. There is just so much variety to the clothing here that I don't know if I would ever understand it all!

i have changed

2008-04-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

I'm an American living in South Asia. When I moved here almost 3 years ago, I thought everything, and I mean everything, was weird and different, and quite frankly, backwards. I bet quite a few people can attest to the fact that I was no fun to be around that first month in country. (I hope no one feels at liberty to attest to an even longer period of time...)

Now, it's safe to say I've changed. South Asia has changed me. So in my reflective mood, I'm writing up things about me that are different, and those of you who will be seeing me on the other side of the world in a few weeks, consider yourselves warned. :)

I don't like cold weather anymore. And by cold, I mean anything under about 75 degrees. Somehow, I grew accustomed to always being warm, and now I get cold way too easily. My family can remember how husband and I shivered last May in Paris in what can only be described by normal people as beautiful sunny weather. I think I called it "icy."

When I watch American TV shows now, I always grimace when I see someone wearing shoes inside a house. It's the custom here to take off your shoes when entering any home, and sometimes even shops. Actually, it's usually pretty rude to leave them on. It makes sense - look at what we walk on daily...would you want that in your home, on your rug, or carpet? The thought of wearing my shoes inside someone's home now just seems odd and slightly disturbing.

Interaction with men will take some getting used to. Before I moved here, I would smile at strangers when I passed them, even if they were men. It was just being friendly. If I were to that here, it would be the equivalent of hitting on the guy. In fact, I rarely look men in the eye at all unless I know them. I catch myself feeling awkward around men a lot, and this will take some adjustment to fix.

I don't want meat at every meal anymore. When we went to Nepal in January, we went to a steakhouse and both of us ordered a 6 oz. steak. Neither of us could finish it! It was just too much meat. That's not to say I don't want meat, I just can't take a lot of it at one time.

Husband and I spend a lot of time together now. At first, it was odd being around my husband for more than a few hours a day. Now when we move back, we've talked about how it's going to be hard to not be together all day.

I am more conscious of my water use. I've seen how water is precious and not always a guarantee, and it concerns me. So I do try my best to conserve water.

I know there are more that I'll think of from time to time. This is not to say my changes are good or bad, I'm just different now. It has been almost 3 years, after all.

a heat wave is coming

2008-04-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

We caved and turned on our AC last night. Yesterday it was 105, and next week a warm front is predicted, high of 113. In April. Yikes.

top 10 mundane things i'm looking forward to

2008-04-23T02:11:00.000-07:00

We should be stepping foot on American soil in one month. This list probably changes daily, but I'm doing a Top 10 of the things I'm most looking forward to. Now obviously, I'm mostly just excited to be around my family and friends again. So, that's not on the list. Neither are travel-related things (like going to the lake) or food related things (like eating steak and baked potatoes at husband's family's house) just because those aren't exactly mundane, and also because they are pretty much a list of their own. Wow, only I could take something so simple and over-analyze it until it's complicated and categorized. So here is my list of mundane, I-always-took-this-for-granted type stuff that I'm extremely excited about:

10. A dishwasher
9. Not standing out
8. Cooking with meat
7. No 120 degree weather
6. Being fluent in the language
5. Year round variety of fruits and veggies
4. Wearing skirts and shorts
3. Comfortable furniture
*2.5. Safe tap water
2. Constant electricity
1. Mailboxes

*How could I forget that one?!

old city shopping

2008-04-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

Andrea and I went to the old part of the city yesterday. It was lots of fun! We didn't just stay on the main road either, but went into "the bowels". The old city is FASCINATING! I love going there...without baby, of course. It's way too chaotic for me to walk and protect baby from all sorts of vehicles. Not to mention it was 102 yesterday, and wearing baby also means I wear sweat.

I wanted to go because I need a new sari and the old city is where they are super cheap. Andrea found the sari bazaar in a little map book since we are both extremely directionally challenged. Extremely. I can't emphasize that point enough. I'm going to do a blog tour of our day. To get the full effect, you'd need to go sit in the middle of your busiest street with a hair dryer blowing in your face.

First, we were dropped off on the main road and then hopped on a cycle rickshaw (not pictured). He seemed to know where the sari bazaar was.

He didn't, but we got a cool tour of all the small roads and alleys.

Finally he found the sari bazaar, which was pretty much where he picked us up. This is a more main road of the market.

We walked into a connecting alleyway. Even as narrow as this path was, there were still scooters, carts, and cycles going both directions, not to mention people. And probably cows too.

I have never shopped for a sari before, so I started out pretty intimidated by the rows and rows of shops. If you've ever shopped in South Asia, you know how much variety there is, and how easy it is to succumb to indecision. Andrea finally encouraged me to just pick a shop and go for it. This was the first shop. We took off our shoes, sat down, and told this man what color sari I was looking for. Then he would pull out a sari and toss it at me. I'm a horrible photographer, but somehow caught the toss in action in this picture. (sidenote: most of these pictures are Andrea's, that's why they are so good!)

He didn't have what I was looking for, so we went to several more. One shop let me "try on" a couple saris over my clothes. I was looking for a double shaded sari with black and gold. I already have black and gold jewelry, so I needed one to match that. Like I said about the colors here, it was pretty difficult to find a sari with black in it. Lime green swirls, hot pink dots, bright orange silks, and turquoise beading, however, were all at my fingertips.

This is the sari I ended up buying. This man's shop was so small we could barely sit down, let alone try on the sari. So he offered to try it on for me! I told him he was looking very beautiful. He didn't laugh though.

Here are a few more pics of the old part of the city. Make sure to notice the ear cleaner!

summer is here...well maybe not officially

2008-04-15T00:26:00.000-07:00

We were talking with my parents on webcam yesterday, and my dad laughed at something I said: "It's getting hot here. Last week we broke 100 degrees. I think we'll be turning our AC on soon." He said, "It broke 100 degrees and you still haven't turned on your AC?!" I know it sounds crazy, but so far, we haven't gotten hot enough to turn it on. I think some of the reasons are that our flat is nice and cool. The houses here are designed to keep relatively cool during the (early) dry hot season. The ceiling fans are impressive! I always cringe when designers on home improvement shows look at a room and say, "Okay the ceiling fan is the first thing to go." Fans can go a long way (well...to a point) for cooling the room, and thus conserving energy used on air conditioners.

Also, dry heat is a lot different than humid heat. (That's not to say that 115 degrees in dry season isn't hot - because it is!) And finally, I think you get used to the heat. It is rare to find central air conditioning here, even in shops or malls. So unless you stand directly under the wall unit AC, the room is still pretty warm. Not to mention that auto rickshaws don't have air conditioners, and car AC's don't really help out so much in 115 degree weather anyway. And then add in the near daily power outages where you go about an hour without electricity, the heat just becomes a way of life.

Last week, we went on one of our evening walks. The weather was probably around 90 degrees, if I had to guess. (it could have been warmer - like I said, you get used to it, so I am not a good gauge at all!) We had baby in just a onesie, and we saw our neighbor walking. He stopped us and told us we should put socks on her so her feet wouldn't get cold! And as I type, I just returned from taking a mid-day grocery shopping trip with baby; it's 99 degrees outside. A man stopped me and said, "Madame, you need to cover the baby's head so she won't be cold." So although it sure feels like summer outside, I guess it's still not considered hot yet to many of fellow capital city dwellers.

tagged by alicia!

2008-04-05T01:24:00.000-07:00

4 Jobs I have had in my life:

Hostess at Steak and Ale
Library Assistant for school district
Accounting Assistant at an IT company
Budget Analyst at Nasa

4 Movies I have watched more than once:

You've Got Mail
Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham
Die Another Day (and pretty much all the James Bond movies)
Fever Pitch

4 Places I have lived:

Land of the Lumberjacks! Axe 'em!
H-town
South Asia
um...does 2 months in Paris count? I don't have another place...

4 TV shows I watch/watched

Friends
Law and Order (all of them)
The Office
Naach Baliye 3!

4 Places I have been

The Himalayas
The Mae Kong River in Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar
the Persian Gulf
on safari in Tanzania

4 people who email me regularly

Sarah
the fam
Christi
my mom

4 of my favorite foods

Veg fajitas
Crab cakes
Baigan ka Bharta
Cheese lehsooni parantha

4 places I would like to visit

NYC
The East coast during fall foliage
Greece
Turkey

4 things I am looking forward to this year

Husband getting a job
Boogeying back to Texas
Hugging and cuddling my nephew and nieces
Going to Virginia

I have no clue who even reads this anymore, but I tag: Sarah, Deanna, Melanie, AQ, and Alison

one of my favorite things

2008-03-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

The city we live in is one of the greenest capitals in the world. Seriously! There are really nice parks all over the city. Our colony (neighborhood) has about 3 nice parks in it, and then there is a really big park about half a mile from our home. Ever since we realized how much baby loves going on walks, we've been going out there several times a week.

I think I may miss these parks the most. And I'm pretty sure I'll be saying that about a lot of things.

People love to come up to baby and pinch her cheeks. And they always ask, "How old is he?" (And no, Mom, it's not because I don't always remember to put bows on her head; they even ask when she's wearing them. :)

South Asians seem to spend a lot of time enjoying the outdoors, which can seem odd, since it gets stinking hot. I wonder if it goes back to the days before air conditioners, when even though it gets 115 degrees outside, it's worth it to sit in the park and wait for a wayward breeze. Or maybe it's the community these people share with each other, where even a city of 17 million can still feel like a village in many ways. Jaya and her mother have walked in one of our colony parks every evening for at least a decade. Jaya and her mother both look at least 10 years younger than they really are - is it good genes or the physical activity?

The park our family has been walking in lately has really nice paths to jog or stroll along. Some kids ride bikes on them, which as long as they are careful, isn't too bad. Now, the other day, some impatient man decided to skip the crazy traffic on the roads and instead rode his scooter through the park. I wasn't too happy about that. But luckily that's the only time that has happened.

There are signs throughout the park that make me laugh. I guess the designers had the idea to create exercise stations. So there is a place for everything from push ups to neck exercises. We haven't quite figured out what the number of meters means (if that's what the M even stands for). Any guesses?

Getting a work out. Sorry for our camera's poor quality! I wish I had gotten the little boy yesterday whose mother made him do the "uneven walk". I don't even know what that exercises, but he was whining , "Why must we exercise, mummy?" It was pretty cute. I think I'd question that one, as well!

president's gardens

2008-03-15T04:50:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the equivalent of the White House here in the capital. There are some really pretty gardens at the President's house that are only open to the public in February and March, so we went today. I tried to find something interesting about the gardens online, but I couldn't. It does have 250 different types of roses (including the Okla Homa Rose...not Oklahoma, mind you). It was designed in the mughal and English garden design by a Britisher, and from my quick 2 minute research, I think that was in 1929. But that's all I know. :)

I do know it's really pretty though! The circular garden was the prettiest. Husband remarked that it is a glimpse of perfection, and that we can't even imagine how beautiful the place prepared for us will be.

They don't allow cameras in, so I had to settle for googled images. It looks basically exactly like this, except with swarms of people. When we walked up to the entrance, there were two separate metal detector and security lines for us to go through - ladies and 'gents'. This is very common, since the culture is so modest. It would be inappropriate for a man to lightly frisk a woman. Side note: with all our recent airport trips, we've carried baby in her sling through the security checks. Each time I've gone through, the women have told me to leave my bag on the conveyor belt, to which I've shown a peek of baby. Every single time, the woman has exclaimed, "OH! So sweet!" and has nudged all her coworkers to look at the baby, and they've all exclaimed as well. It's pretty fun to surprise them.

I had baby and her bag, and a man on a microphone and loudspeaker called out to me, "Madam, you must leave your bag!" We walked over to him to show him it was just baby's bottle and diapers. We were right next to him, but he continued to address us, eye to eye, on the microphone. "You can take the baby bottle and nappies, but you must leave the bag." We thought that was pretty funny.

I think baby was more of a spectacle than the flowers, and I'm not just saying that because I'm her mother. South Asians love babies, especially blue eyed light-skinned ones. It was like every where we went, we could hear such remarks as, "Look at the baby!" "Oh it's a baby!" "She looks like a doll!" etc. It's fun to have a celebrity baby. :)

In the gardens, there were some flowers that we have in our front "yard". So I thought I'd post them so it would be semi-authentic pictures from today's family outing.

please note

2008-03-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

I added a link to all my blogging friends on the right. If you'd rather not be linked to me, out of security, anonymity, or embarrassment :), just comment. I'll delete the link and your comment. :)

different parenting philosophies

2008-03-10T04:48:00.001-07:00

Even within a similar culture, there are countless opinions on raising children. So it should have come to no surprise to me that a culture half a world away would have different ideas from my own on how a baby should be treated.

The main thing I've noticed deals with crying. Most of the South Asians I've talked with won't let their child cry. If a child cries, he must be picked up or fed immediately. Last week, I went to visit D*, a lady I met in our prenatal classes. Her baby boy was born 5 weeks after our girl. She says he wakes up every 2 hours all night long, and she has to pick him up and walk him around the house until he falls back asleep. Curious, I asked her if she ever let him 'cry it out.' She looked almost horrified and said no. She told me that even when she goes to the bathroom, she tells her house helper to come get her if he starts to cry! It's no wonder she told me she's considering not having any more kids. I think I'd go insane if I couldn't even go to the bathroom. Later on at D's, baby girl needed her diaper changed. As I changed it, she fussed. D and her husband came rushing to see what was wrong with baby girl and asked repeatedly what I was going to do to stop her crying! It made me very nervous.

Even more drastic, we heard a slightly disturbing story about some friends of ours who are raising a child in the mountain town we used to live in. Their baby was crying in the middle of the night, and it seems the parents had decided to let her cry it out. Apparently, the neighboring family didn't approve of this method, for they showed up at their door, asking why the baby was crying. If I heard the story correctly, it was the whole family who came a-knockin'!

The traditional South Asian family lives in a multiple family home, with several generations under one roof. D and her husband live on their own, and I think part of the consequences with that is she feels pretty clueless about raising her baby. I don't mean to imply that she's a bad mother or that I have it all together, because neither is true. D just peppered me with questions about baby development, from when they start solids to poopy diapers to sitting up. She even asked me if my 3 month old baby was saying "mommy" yet. I hated to disappoint her hopes that her baby boy would be telling her what he wanted in a few weeks. My guess is that elders help out tremendously with South Asian mothers, and poor D doesn't have anyone to consult.

Some other funny questions we've been asked by adults:

People are very curious about the baby sling. I can't tell you how many have seen her snuggled up, sound asleep, and asked, "Is she comfortable like that?" They seem to think babies should be flat and straight at all times, forgetting that for 9 months, the baby curled up comfortably in tight quarters.

When we took her to the office at 6 weeks old, a grown man asked in all seriousness, "Are her eyes opening yet?" As in like puppies.

"Where is her hair?" Many, many people find it very odd that she doesn't have a full head of hair.

"Does she speak Hindi?" I guess only time will tell. :)

what's so great about thailand?

2008-03-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

In the last 2.5 years, we've been to Thailand 5 times, usually to the same city up in the hills. You would think it would get old, but it never does! We look forward to it every time, and I'm a little sad our last trip to Thailand is over for this term.

To me, it's like America but with Asian prices and services. Granted, my view of "nice" is a little skewed now. But I think anyone would find it nice! So just what is it that is so great about Thailand?

The markets! You can find house decorations, like table runners and lamps. Also clothes, shoes, jewelry, food, and so much more, all for super cheap prices if you bargain correctly.

The markets also have places to get foot rubs! I think that's my favorite part. You can sit, and watch the action, while paying $2 to get a 30 minute foot rub. We found a place on our last trip that did an hour foot, shoulder, and neck massage for $5. You can't beat that!

Fun foods, like banana roti! And also the fruits I posted about last summer, and other great places to eat.

The Thais seem to enjoy beauty, specifically in making the city aesthetically pleasing. There are flowers and plants all over the city, and there is even a blossom tree-lined moat through part of it. The weather is beautiful, too.

The beach! To be honest, we've only been to one of their beaches, and it's not their nicest or most family-friendly. But it's still a beach, and they bring around fried shrimp, chicken, ice cream, and funny enough, corn on the cob for you to eat while lounging. And even some ladies come by offering foot rubs!

marriage retreat

2008-02-16T23:36:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we get to do the coolest, most edifying things! This week was no exception. Some wonderful leaders of ours hosted a marriage retreat for the 4 here on a certain team, which includes us, so we got to join in on the fun. It was a stretch for me, being away from baby for 36 hours, but it was well worth it.

It was very laid back. We got together in a large group and discussed certain topics. The two couples leading us have over 60 years of marriage combined between the two of them, so they of course had lots of great advice to offer. Then in the afternoons, the husbands and wives split up to discuss gender-specific issues. But in between all this was lots of food and lots of dating! The leaders provided 3 huge breakfasts for us (complete with bacon and sausage!) and at lunch the couples went out on dates. So it was a great way for husband and I to explore new places in the capital.

The first day, I got to choose the date, and I chose a restaurant/lounge I'd been eyeing for awhile. It's in a market near us, so if we can save up again, we'll go back! It was really nice and romantic - dark purple velvet couches, deep red pillows and walls, low lighting. I felt very sophisticated. :)

That evening, the leaders gave us an extraordinary candlelit dinner that I still don't know how they pulled off with the tiny ovens we have here.

The next day, husband picked the date. We went to a really nice outdoor garden restaurant we like, where we sat in a little tented area.
After lunch, we took a walk through some really nice gardens.

On our way back we got a special treat of seeing an elephant and two camels among our traffic. What a cool city!

The discussions were very encouraging for all of us, and made for one of my favorite Valentine's Days ever! We owe a ton of gratitude to those back home who helped fund this refreshing time, and to the boss for creating marriage - what a wonderful gift He gave us!

2007 in pictures

2008-01-29T00:14:00.001-08:00

My friend Kelley had a great idea of looking back on 2007 with her favorite photos. I decided to steal her idea. :) I've narrowed them down to my Top 10 favorite pictures of 2007, 5 anonymous for this blog, and the other 5 on the family blog.

5. This picture was taken in a J temple. It's in my top 5 because it sums up perfectly why we are here in South Asia.

4. This was taken on a beach in Thailand, and I like it because it makes me laugh. It seems auto rickshaws really are every where. :)

3. Jaya lighting candles around her home for the festival of lights. I love all the colors in this photo. It's hard for me to believe I only met her last year. She was definitely my most meaningful friendship in 2007.

2. It was hard to choose my favorite picture from Venice, because the city is picturesque from all angles. This is from the Grand Canal. Our European trip was our big vacation of 2007 (and probably our life!) so of course Venice had to have a special mention.

1. Paris is possibly my favorite city on the planet, so not only did it deserve to be on this list, it deserved the top slot. It was even harder to narrow down my favorite Parisian shot. I realized I can't go wrong with a classic, so I decided on this one, taken beautifully by my husband.

pics from the himalayan country

2008-01-27T02:58:00.000-08:00

While we were in the Himalayan country, the city was very smoggy, so here's the best pic we got of the Himalayas surrounding the city:

Yeah not too picturesque, huh? Here are some more pics we took.

There were tons of cafes. Husband took this picture because he liked the guy's hat.

There is a radical communist presence in the country.

The view from our hotel room. I have a hard time believing that pool ever gets used.

There are a lot of hippie-types that spend time in this city. So in one market, men would come to us and offer us hash. They looked a lot like this guy, so I took his picture thinking it would make a cool story. Alas, he was merely selling lip balm.

We met this shopkeeper through an American friend. He was really cool and had the best accent. I bought this shirt for baby.

This is that guy's dad. He was a sweet, smiley guy. We sat with them and they insisted we have tea while we shopped.

The city's traffic is pretty bad. One fun thing about the city is that there are a lot of what I would call 'grand buildings' like the one ahead of all the cars.

Pronounced 'thirst-pee'. That pretty much sums it up, huh?

newborn love

2008-01-25T19:36:00.000-08:00

Technically this post could go on the baby blog, but I'm putting it here because I find it more interesting as a tourist than a mother. And really, isn't that blog just a thinly veiled excuse to put up as many pics as possible of my baby?

We're still here in the Himalayan country - but fortunately we're leaving today! The visa process for baby actually took less than 12 hours! We found that very strange, considering in our current country, just to receive her visa to exit the country, it took 2 days, not including the 6 weeks of official documentation leading up to that. Actually, a funny side story to that, while baby and I were sitting at the overcrowded station of a visa agent, a South Asian-Canadian man began to yell at the neighboring agent about how ridiculous the whole process was. "I am proud to be a South Asian, but I hate coming to this country, because you harass the foreigners! In Canada it only took me one day to get my visa. Here, it is purely harassment!" All I could do was nod my head at the man's shouts because yes, that is very true. If you think I'm wordy now, you would hate to see a blogpost about the head-scratching process for baby's exit visa, but luckily for you, I'm not gonna even go there.

So we arrived at the Embassy around 11am, and noticed there was already a very long line to the visa desk. First of all, how cool that there was a line? It's been awhile since I've seen one of those! Husband asked an agent if this was where we should be, and when they saw we had a newborn, they told us to go to the front of the line. I was very relieved, seeing as it was really cold and the entire visa process takes place outdoors. However, I was very nervous at how all the people waiting in line would react. As an American, I'm used to people being very orderly, very first come, first serve, no matter what. And I can't disagree with that philosophy. But miracle of miracles, not one person grumbled! In fact, they looked at baby and smiled warmly. A French couple laughed at her all snuggled in my sling, and an Austrian couple came over to meet us and see the baby and ask how it was giving birth in a foreign country. (shameless plug sidenote: in Austria, like many, many countries, it costs absolutely nothing to have a baby. Yes, you heard that right - watch Sicko and you'll be just as shocked as we were) The visa agents even told all 3 of us to wait inside the office with them where there was a heater!

I've begun to realize what I've heard rumors of already - Asians and Europeans absolutely love babies! First the very kind people on the bus, and now this. Makes me a lot more at ease for more travel with baby.

bandh, bus, and baby

2008-01-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

A 7 week old spices up life quite a bit! I know that's the truth for everyone, and I believe it's just as true for us tourists. Especially in Asia!

We took baby on her first flight and trip abroad yesterday, and arrived in the Himalayan country north of our current home. The purpose of this trip is to receive her visa so we can return, and our tickets are for this weekend. Baby was wonderful on the flight, which somehow gave us false hopes of a delightful and problem-free stay and a smooth governmental process all the while gazing at the Himalayas surrounding the valley city we're staying in. I don't know where that gazing thought came from, since we had to circle the airport for close to an hour waiting for visibility. I was a wee bit over-optimistic.

When we arrived yesterday, we were supposed to have a bus waiting to take us to the hotel. This was when we found out that the city transport workers are all striking against gas prices. Absolutely no transportation was available, and people were burning tires in the roads, which kept even private transportation to a minimum. Since there were no taxis or buses available for anyone at the airport to reach their hotels, a police bus had to take all the tourists to their respective hotels. It was complete chaos. Men carried suitcases on the bus, under the bus, out of the bus, as people tried to push their way on as well. Luckily, the passengers were very sympathetic as soon as they saw us with baby in the Snugli. A Frenchman immediately jumped up from his seat and offered for me to sit. I took it gratefully, and James was offered the seat next to me as well. Baby began to get fussy because she was hungry. A local man laughed and said, "He is hungry. Feed him." (I've begun to notice South Asians just refer to strangers' babies as 'he') Nearby passengers also laughed, and I relaxed. Husband and I were both so grateful these people understood that yes, babies do fuss sometimes. She did quiet down when I "fed him."

On the crowded bus, I was reminded of our year in the Himalayas, and pretty glad we didn't have to travel that way anymore. Well, present week excluded.

Apparently, the strike (bandh) is still going on, and worse today since not even residents can drive anywhere, so we are stranded in our hotel for the time being. This means we also won't be returning this weekend. Oh the joys of being a tourist in South Asia! At least our room has a view and we can imagine the Himalayas beyond the fog.

guest blogger - nana!

2008-01-18T02:05:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful time I have had here. Getting to see my first grandbaby what a joy and thrill. She is so very precious and cuddly. I will be heading back next week to the states but oh my what memories I will take. My son is so blessed to have such a wonderful wife. I am blessed by both. What joy and thrills to my soul they have brought.

Well, my many adventures here have been awesome. The food, shopping, and sights. I will never get over the traffic jams. They have nothing over Texas. I did however, get one of their bugs while I was here. It was not pleasant and put me out for 5 days. However, I did get to visit one of their gastro doctors and receive some wonderful meds.

I know that I will miss the kids and just getting to hug them but oh that grandbaby what a blessing to get to come here at this time.

poor nana

2008-01-13T03:19:00.000-08:00

Nana came all the way to South Asia, and like the way of many foreigners here, became very sick. How sick? you may ask. Without going into too many details, this description is taken from the GlaxoSmithKline website next to a picture of the medicine she is taking (warning: do not read if you have a weak stomach):

Worm infestation is something not many people really think about. In fact, there are many out there who have never even taken any de-worming medication and are unaware that this is a problem that is more common than we think.

Nana is now very much aware.

Here she is in happier, more unaware days:

Don't worry - she's feeling much better now and will soon be able to leave the house again. Though I'm sure a little more wary.

sew happy

2008-01-10T02:56:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'll admit that's a cheesy title, but it's my blog. My mother-in-law (Nana) loves to quilt and sew, 'stitching' as they call it here. So guess which shops we hit up first? Last time they came, she walked out empty handed because she was frozen with indecision. This time she didn't do that. We took her to the 2 story giant fabric store, and she went nuts. Silks, cottons, batiks...nothing was safe.

mimi at the market

2007-12-30T05:07:00.000-08:00

Here is a video husband made of my mom's first trip to the bargaining market. Yes first. She couldn't resist, and had to go back another time before leaving. Make sure you notice the scandalous skirt tying, the secret mission bargaining discussions between my mom and me, and all the people, items, and fun colors!

guest blogger - Mimi!

2007-12-27T00:52:00.000-08:00

I arrived to visit daughter, son-in-law, and mostly beautiful new grandbaby 2 weeks ago. I have to admit that I was somewhat nervous about this trip. Not that I'm afraid to visit places that are on other continents, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect where daughter lives. I have had a wonderful visit and sadly, today is my last day and I will be leaving at the stroke of midnight tonight. So, I thought I would share some of my observations while here.

First of all, the driving and the traffic. I had been warned ahead of time about this phenomenon. Most of you who know me know that I am the world's absolute worse passenger in a car. However, on the way home from the airport, we came to an intersection that had a red light. Our driver slowed down, looked both ways, honked his horn, and kept right on going. It seems that after dark, red lights are optional. Interesting law. Second, the amount of traffic/cars on the streets at one time. I sat by a man on the airplane over here that lives here. He warned me about the amount of traffic and cars and said that the philosophy is to use every bit of the concrete space as possible. If that means putting 5 cars where 3 are suppose to be, then so be it. No one seems to care. Because there is so much traffic and frequent traffic jams, you usually never travel faster than 20-30 mph and that is only for a short distance. On the ride home from the airport and since it was so late at night, our taxi hit several areas where he was able to drive 30-40 mph. Since most people in my hometown travel at 50-70 mph, the taxi did not seem to be travelling all that fast. I thought it interesting to hear son-in-law say that the taxi ride was making him very nervous because we were speeding through town.

The next thing I observed was shopping! You know I had to go there. Daughter took me to a market and on the way there she told me what a nice market this was. I didn't have my expectations high, but when we got there and were walking from the parking lot, down the street and to the shops that she needed to visit, I realized that I had taken daughter's words too literal. I'm thinking to myself, what is she thinking???? However, when you walk into the shops, you are totally transformed. They are very nice, very clean, and best of all, very CHEAP! There's nothing better in my way of thinking than a bargain. I would like to say that we went back to that same market about a week later and I'm thinking to myself, this is a nice market. My how our perceptions change. One of the funnest (is that a word?) shopping experiences was shopping for shoes! O.K., I know that none of you are surprised that I was shoe shopping. :) You know how when we shoe shop in our hometown, our salesperson goes to the back and finds our shoes in our size and brings the boxes out to us. Well, they don't do that here. The shoes are kept in the attic. Yes, I did say attic. And, there are usually 2 openings in the ceiling that reveals the attic. You tell your salesperson what shoe you like and your size. He literally yells up to a guy that stays in the attic and he THROWS down your shoes. If they don't fit or if you don't want them, the salesperson throws them back up. I found out that the "attic guy" is working his way up to being a salesperson. Now, I know most of you will find this hard to believe, but I tried on so many pairs of shoes that daughter and I learned the attic guy's name. Before I finished shopping, attic guy was throwing down shoes that I had not asked to try on but he thought I might like and as I would try them on, he would comment on how nice they looked or that the color was very nice, etc. I'd say he was already practicing being a salesperson. We also went to a market where you bargain for prices. Daughter has this down to a science. She speaks the language here which is a novelty to the residents. Daughter looks nothing like the people that are native to this area so when she opens her mouth and starts rattling off the language, the people are totally fascinated. Nevertheless, I got some good bargains on some nice things because of the art of bargaining. Too bad I don't have a bargaining market at home. Just an fyi, but a new mall has been built here and you step out of your taxi in an atmosphere of the native country and step into the mall which is like stepping into my native homeland. The prices are the same as stepping into my homeland too.

Some miscellaneous things that were unique to me are included in this paragraph. The apartment complex where daughter lives, has security guards. I use that term loosely. These guys walk around at night blowing whistles and banging sticks against the metal fencing. Evidently, they are scaring away the "no good doers" before they get close to them. Either they don't want the confrontation or they are scared of the bad guys. But, this happens all night long. I went from listening to airplanes come over my house to listening to security guards blow whistles and bang sticks. I've watched a Bollywood movie and actually liked it! I went with daughter to have her hair cut and highlighted. Each person has their own specific thing that they do at the beauty shop. She had about 8 people standing around her and doing things to her hair at once. It looked more like she was having an operation with a team of doctors standing around her than having her hair done. Speaking of that, everyone here has a specific occupation and they are the only ones that do that. For instance, there is a guy, 3 doors down, that is a press "walla". He stands outside all day, everyday, with a huge metal iron, hot coals, and a big counter. When you need something ironed, you take your clothes to the press walla and he irons it for about a penny per piece of clothing. Yes, that's correct, a penny. I have definitely decided that every country, every state, every town, every neighborhood, every house needs a press walla. There is also a guy who sits outside with his big sewing machine and does mending. There is a trash walla who collects the trash. You get the idea. There are animals everywhere and they just kind of roam freely. The pedestrians here do NOT have the right of way and WILL get hit if they don't get out of the way. However, the animals will sit in the middle of streets because they know that drivers would never dream of harming them. Oh the quality and value of human life.

I will say that this is a very male dominated society. Women are not respected and they are treated and talked to a lot different than men. It doesn't matter where the men and women are from, if they are native or foreign, the men are treated better than the women. Daughter has grown weary of this fact and has become spunky in some of her dealings with men here. She has become more vocal to them and as I mentioned before, when she starts speaking to them in their native tongue, it surprises the heck out of them! I want to say, you go girl! Of course, it isn't something that she can change but it makes her feel better. I wonder where she gets that trait from?

Overall, my trip has been great. However it would have been great if all I had done was sit in the rocking chair and rock my brand new beautiful granddaughter and visited with daughter and son-in-law. But, it has been an adventure. I can't wait to see how the ride back to the airport will be tonight!

dress up

2007-12-25T22:28:00.000-08:00

Jaya brought some of her saris over yesterday and had my mom try them on! Mom looked beautiful. Here are some of Mom's comments: "Saris are so elegant!" "The fabric is beautiful!" "I just want to stay in this all day!" and "I wish your dad were here so I could have him take me somewhere fancy."

a newborn in south asia

2007-12-18T02:53:00.001-08:00

Yes it's been awhile since I've updated this. That's because as of November 30, we've had our hands full with Baby. It's been a lot of fun, and we've had some uniquely South Asian moments after she made her debut.

For starters, 2 days after we returned from the hospital (5 days after giving birth), I came down with what I am convinced was the worst stomach virus known to man. I literally slept in the bathroom!! After 3 days of severe sickness, and 3 completely ineffective Immodiums, my doctor told me to go to the emergency room. So we trekked back to the hospital for 2 more nights. Severe gastroenteritis (or possibly an amoeba?) definitely gave my otherwise uneventful labor and delivery a South Asian twist!

Also, I'm still trying to learn an honest but vague answer regarding Baby's age to those who ask while I'm out with her. It's pretty common for women and their newborns to stay indoors completely for 40 days, and I've already been on the receiving end of a stern lecture once by a shopkeeper.

And finally, this weekend, the eunuchs came to our house. We've been very nervous about this ever since we heard from our friends that they come after a baby is born. The eunuchs have their own little community here and come to your home demanding money during weddings or when you have new babies. They dress like very stylish women. Our friends did a more in-depth blog about it here. Anyway, we had been warned, so we've kept our doors firmly locked since bringing Baby home. But yesterday, for a brief moment, the door was unlocked, and guess who showed up? Not only did he ring the bell, but he walked right on in and asked for money. Husband told him it's not our custom (many South Asians believe they will be cursed if they don't give money), so the eunuch left! There were about 6 others waiting on the street, and they discussed what to do, then I guess decided we weren't worth it, so they all left! It was very anti-climactic, for which I am very, very grateful.

random holiday rumblings

2007-11-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

Ever since I learned about it, I've known that Thanksgiving is an American holiday. But it never really clicked with me until I moved overseas. Our first Thanksgiving here, Priya asked me what exactly Thanksgiving was about. I began telling her how some people sailed to America on a big boat. She cut me off and asked, "Noah's boat?" Last week, Jaya asked me to explain in detail, which was a great opportunity to share with her. The day of Thanksgiving, I saw Doctor, our neighbor, and he asked me about the holiday, too. I thought I did a good job explaining it, but I guess with his worldview, a few minutes' explanation just wasn't enough:

Doctor: So you will go to an office to give thanks?
Me: Not today, no. We will give thanks in our home, because we believe we can speak to the boss anywhere.
Doctor: Oh yes, we too believe the boss is in everything.

Hm, not exactly what I said. I've come a ways from confusing Noah and the Pilgrims, but it seems I still have kinks to work out.

Okay, so we know it's officially Christmas season now! Husband and I decorated last night. We have some pretty pathetic Christmas decorations, that not only border on, but go right on through to Tackyland. But I put them up anyway, because to me, it's better than nothing. And next year, when I have access to good Christmas decorations again, I have full intentions of rectifying the situation.

But for now, we'll make do with our super skinny and leaning tree. And we have no real tree topper. I saw we had some leftover ribbon, so I made a lame attempt at topping the tree with some bows. Then husband saw a certain ornament that my mom gave us, and we just knew this would be topping our tree. Please, please tell me, those of you from other states, that you too have state-pride ornaments on your trees? Otherwise, I'm just as obnoxious as I try not to be.

In my pregnant clumsiness, I dropped our nativity scene a few weeks ago, and several of the ceramic pieces broke. Fortunately, the three main characters stayed in tact, as well as a sheep. But a shepherd and a cow broke. Considering where I live, I found that kind of humorous. Anyway I didn't have a place to put our nativity scene, so I finally settled on our 'Africa table.' Didn't you know that giraffes and Masai warriors were also at that stable long ago?

byob - bring your own bird!

2007-11-22T21:33:00.000-08:00

This year, our Capital team decided it would be much easier if all the families just brought their own chickens to the Thanksgiving lunch. So since husband has been having fun all week using his new tandoor, of course we brought tandoori chicken!

The night before Thanksgiving, we had some friends over to grill in our backyard...all of which takes on a new meaning here, when a grill looks like a bucket and a backyard is about 8x8 with concrete flooring.

Here they are gathered around the grill.

Husband taught them how to make naan. If I had to guess, I think naan translates to "little pieces of heavenly bread." :)

The chicken we took to the Thanksgiving feast. Since the grill gets about 700 degrees inside, this entire chicken took only 15 minutes to cook all the way through.

After lunch, a lot of us went down to the park to play/watch a good game of American football. Husband somehow managed to keep his new white shirt from getting dirty.

And since we looked odd because a.) we were playing a game that wasn't cricket, and b.) there were a lot of Westerners in one place, we drew some spectators. I wonder what they thought of the game?

I can't say enough how much of a blessing it is to have a 'family' over here. We miss our families in the states so much, especially at holidays. I still miss the fun Thanksgiving traditions we have with our families back home, like kick the can, going to the lake, and trying to accurately make Mema's dressing (this year I didn't put enough poultry seasoning in it, and also made it too dry - there's always hope for next year!), and our family here can't replace that. So having a family over here keeps us from going crazy from loneliness. We thank the boss for these wonderful, fun, and creative people!

i'm a mall rat!

2007-11-18T00:22:00.000-08:00

This post probably won't be too exciting for the American readers, but for any of you who currently live in South Asia, or who have lived or traveled through here, I think you'll be shocked! Well if you're anything like husband and me, that is.

Down the road from the hospital we'll be delivering baby at is a new mall. They've been working on it for well over a year now, probably two. I'm not sure. Malls here are nice enough - several levels, plenty of shops and places to eat, temperature controlled. So it's not like we ever complained before. But this new mall - oh my! I feel like such a teenager getting excited over a mall. It's sprawling - it seems to go on forever. It's modern - both the shops and the shoppers. And it's got variety, both in cuisine and shopping choices.

There's a big book store, a big baby store, a Clinique, a L'Occitane, a Body Shop, an Etam, a Nine West, and many, many name brand apparel shops that no one can afford. There are home shops, too, one that can only be described as a department store. They have several coffee shops and they're even opening a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf!! You know how we see those incredibly expensive stores around town and wonder who has the money to pay for those things? Well, those people are walking through this mall. It's like a fashion parade. I even saw several pregnant ladies showing off their swollen bellies, and believe me, that says a lot about how modern the clientele is.

The food court is really nice, tasty, and cheap! There are plenty of South Asian choices (Northern, Southern, and street food!), but there's also a grilled sandwich place, Mexican, pasta, soup and salad, pizza, and Chinese. And there's a gelato guy who will soon also serve those gelato stone ice creams. There's also a fancy restaurant there, and some other places opening shortly. And the patio seating is really nice. (Or it will be once all the mosquitoes are dead.) They even have a couple of those tent-rooms set up with couches and tables.

Like I said, only those of you who know what the rest of the Capital's shopping choices are like will be impressed by this. It doesn't help that the pictures don't do it justice - either the mall is very unphotogenic, or I'm a bad photographer. I'm betting on the latter.

dessert discussions

2007-11-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

I have had two interesting conversations with Jaya recently that highlight the differences of our cultures. Jaya loves my cakes. She is not a sweets person, but anytime I take them cake, she admits sheepishly that she ate it all. She'll always ask me how I make them, and after I explain how easy it is to make cakes, she'll look at me doubtfully and remark, "I think it just comes naturally to Americans." She said it to me, not for the first time, just this week. I thought about it, and realized one of the first things we are taught to cook are cookies and brownies and sweets. She doesn't understand when I tell her it takes me a long time to make even simple chapatis (their flat bread), and I guess it's the equivalent with our baking. I don't understand how anyone could be confused about baking.

But as much as she loves cake, she doesn't like everything I bake. I love the fall and apple season, so last week, I made an apple crisp. Jaya came over, and I offered her some, thinking she would love it. But she just moved it around with her spoon until I finally coaxed it out of her why she wasn't eating it. Apparently, she doesn't like cinnamon. I don't just mean the taste, I mean the smell too! Honestly, is there anything more American than eating some kind of dessert laced with cinnamon while burning an apple cinnamon candle? I thought back and realized Priya would eat anything I made except my apple pie. So although I hate to generalize, Jaya is probably not the only South Asian who does not conjur up homey, cozy memories at the smell of cinnamon.

Anyone else have this experience overseas? It's pretty ethnocentric of me, but I honestly am blown away that the entire world does not love cinnamon.

put on your saree...

2007-11-10T08:24:00.000-08:00

...it's time to celebrate Diwali!

(I love that episode of The Office!)

Here are some pics from Diwali - the Festival of Lights. We went to Jaya's house to watch how they celebrate.

Our street all lit up

A sobering reminder

Jaya's mother's home, complete with hanging marigolds and the flower decorations on the ground. The designs are always so beautiful.

Jaya told me the colorful decorations on the ground are so the goddess of wealth will visit the home that year. She had about 5 of these on her driveway and patio. Some were made of flowers (like this one), some of colored powder, and all had candles around them.

The crackers are the main attraction. Husband estimates that their family spent around $500 on crackers! It was quite the show. They wouldn't let me get close, and I had to sit almost the whole time, because of my 'delicate situation.' Every year, so many crackers go off all over the city that it sounds like a war-zone.

hats off to the chef!

2007-11-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

Through our two years here, we have had some minor accomplishments in the kitchen. I distinctly remember when I learned how to make tortillas, refried beans, enchiladas, and other Tex-Mex foods. It was a moment of relief that we wouldn't have to go 3 years without our beloved Mexican food. But nothing, and I mean nothing, prepared me for my husband's cooking skills. He discovered about two weeks ago that he can make all kinds of dough in our food processor. First it was pizza dough, then garlic bread sticks, then pretzels, then French baguettes. Yes, all of that in the matter of about 10 days! Last night, though, he topped it all with a surprise dinner for me. He said he was going to surprise me, and I underestimated his abilities; I thought he was making me bruschetta or something like that. But then he brought this out - a cheesy, pepperoni, zucchini, tomato, and onion stromboli! However impressed you are, double it, because he did not buy the bread and stuff it with pizza sauce out of a jar. He made the bread and the sauce before stuffing it, and let me just say, it was even better than it sounds!

wedding time!

2007-11-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

Remember the bridal shower from a few weeks ago? Last night was the wedding! It was a lot of fun for several reasons: 1, we know the bride and groom well. 2, we knew a lot of the guests. 3, the ceremony wasn't at 2am!

The mother-of-the-bride (Auntie) told me ahead of time that the wedding would be very small - only about 400 guests! Now, my own wedding was considered huge by American standards with 300 guests, so even though I'd been to two South Asian weddings at that point, it still shocked me. I asked Auntie how many guests were at her wedding, and she said about 750! I posed the same question to another lady who was listening to our conversation, and she agreed that about 800 guests were at her own wedding! I guess I had conveniently forgotten how many people were at the other weddings I had been to.

The bride and groom about to cut the cake. This wasn't the cake we ate, nor could this small cake have fed the 350+ guests. Instead, they passed around South Asia's favorite cake - fruit cake! :) I'm not sure where this cake ended up:

Sorry for the dust spots in the pictures. Our pixel-thingy catches the dust particles, and it drives husband nuts:
Here is a picture of two of our good friends that also happen to be gorgeous! The one of the left is the sister of the bride:

The happy couple!:

movies

2007-11-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the great suggestions for romantic comedies! Since a few of your asked, here are any results that brought up more than one suggestion:

2005 and newer:
*The Holiday - most suggested movie! I've seen it once and agree it's one to own.
*Because I Said So - I was told this is a great mother/daughter movie.
*The Devil Wears Prada
*Fever Pitch
*The Family Stone - it was mentioned to me that this movie might be iffy in sections
*In Her Shoes - I saw it and liked it, although it has a few scenes that are iffy

Older Movies:
*Serendipity - I already own this movie and watch it all the time!
*The Cutting Edge
*Only You
*Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I'm excited to see what I end up with!

mehendi

2007-10-30T01:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the festival where women dress up in their really nice clothes, sometimes their bridal wear, and fast for the long lives of their husbands. Last year, I spent some time with Priya on this festival, and she surprised me by eating apples and sweets and other things while fasting. So this year, I was expecting Jaya to do the same, but she keeps a complete fast from sun up to sun down. She woke up around 4, did a pooja (special worship) and then had a big breakfast. She didn't have anything to eat or drink again until 5pm, after she did her second pooja and then had some milk. Around 8pm, she and her husband went to a special spot where the moon is showing, and they did the moon pooja, then had dinner. I didn't watch, but she and her husband told me that they take a flour sifter, hold it up to the moon, and then to the husband's face. When I asked what it meant, they said they weren't sure. (If you watched the Bollywood dance video several posts back, they celebrated this festival in the song)

On Sunday I went to Jaya's to get mehendi done. Her husband did a very sweet gesture, surprising her by hiring someone to come to the house to do it. Mehendi is henna. It's done for festivals and weddings, and is considered very beautiful, like jewelry. When I get it done, I am always so happy I live in South Asia because it's so fun to be a woman here at times like that! It goes on in a thick paste and hardens, and you have to let it stay on for awhile before letting the pieces fall off. When it comes off, the henna is light orange, but by the next day, it's a dark brown, and stays on for several days or weeks. Here is Jaya, her sister-in-law, and me showing off our mehendi. Between the white skin and almost 9 month pregnant belly, I bet you can't guess which one is me! ;) Jaya actually told me while we were getting our mehendi done that I was "so lucky" because my mehendi would show up so dark on my fair skin. I had to laugh at the irony of our two cultures, both wanting what we don't have!

turbans

2007-10-25T04:41:00.000-07:00

We can't go very far South Asia without seeing a man in a turban. Now, if you're like I was before coming to South Asia, you have an incorrect assumption about the people who wear turbans - you probably think they are of a different religion than they are. I don't know the statistic, but probably close to all of people wearing turbans worldwide are actually Sikhs. It is part of their religion (Sikhism) to wear turbans, because one of their rituals is letting their hair go uncut for a lifetime. So they wrap their long hair up in a turban, and also carry a comb with them at all times. I've been told the comb is to represent that they care about hygiene and being presentable. Most Sikhs live in South Asia, but they are also found all over the world, as I'm sure most of you know.

The Sikhs that I have been in contact with are very friendly people and love to laugh. I've heard from several other Western women the same comments about Sikh men - we've noticed that most of them treat us and other women with respect.

Their turbans are like a personal statement. I've heard the most devout only wear a dark blue turban. Children wear smaller turbans, since obviously they have less hair to wrap up. And then a lot of men match their turbans to their outfits. My national friends have told me these men are very stylish!

Sikh boy :

These men color coordinated their turbans to their outfits!:

Hopefully, if you were like me with assumptions about men in turbans, now you can identify correctly whether or not a man is a Sikh.

love is in the air...

2007-10-21T23:50:00.000-07:00

People in South Asia show their affection to their friends in ways that may seem...strange...to the average Westerner. While the American guys I know will give their friends a nod, a hand shake, or at most, the three-pat hug, South Asian guys and gals like to show more affection to their friends of the same gender.

No funny business going on, these men just like to walk arm in arm.

They may not even be best buds, but this guy wanted to drape his arm around his friend.

Men (or women) walking hand in hand is not something you even look twice at.

"Brothers don't shake hands. Brothers hug!"

So the next time you're out walking with your best friend, put your arm around him/her to show just how much you love being buddies. But only if your friend is of the same gender - otherwise, it's just scandalous.

festival season

2007-10-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

I talk about it a lot, but I don't think I've ever elaborated on Festival Season. The time frame depends on the lunar cycle. This year, it's mainly in October and ends with a bang (or a cracker!) in early November for the Festival of Lights.

First, there is Nine Nights, a festival that is celebrated for, you guessed it, nine nights. It's going on right now. Each day, a different goddess is worshiped. In the middle of the Nine Nights is a 2-4 days festival and worship time for the goddess who they believe is kinda like the mother goddess, and who represents femininity but is depicted as a warrior. The devout will fast during this time, but it's not the same type of fasting we know in the States. They actually eat a lot of what they call fasting foods. Apparently people end up gaining weight during their fasting, so there was an article in the paper the other day to give tips to those fasting on how to not gain weight...during a fast.

Then, on the 10th Night, another festival is celebrated as the culmination of the 9 other nights. People will build a large effigy of a legendary evil guy who was defeated by the good guys (again, according to legend) and then they all gather and watch the evil guy burn. I've been seeing lots of these large statues being made all over the city. We passed some yesterday on the road to Kishori's.

Several days after the 10th Night, there is the Husband/Wife Celebration. That's the day many women dress up in fancy clothes or bridal gear, fast all day (again... often a different type of fast), then they worship the moon and eat dinner with their husbands. And then finally, The Festival of Lights. It's the biggest celebration of the year.

I can't forget to add in a very important celebration that took place yesterday (which happened to also be the most auspicious day of festival season, according to Jaya). It was My Birthday! :) I was so surprised at how many gifts and treats I received this year - much more than last year or the year before! Since I went out to Kishori's yesterday with my supervisor and our friend who does translation work for us, they both brought me gifts. Then Kishori had everyone there eat a sweet in honor of my birthday and she also gave me a new suit! When I got home, our neighbor had brought a mousse cake to us because it was his birthday too, and then Jaya came over. She brought me a black forest cake, which she made us all feed to each other while taking pictures! She also gave me a new suit and some flowers. Such sweet gestures from my national friends!

Husband took me on a date last night to a nice East Asian restaurant. Then we went to another cafe for dessert. Both places look really fancy but are much cheaper than you'd think! At the cafe, I got even more chocolate. Except for a small nibble this week, I haven't had chocolate or sweets at all in 7 weeks! So you can imagine that the entire day was a shock to my system. I wasn't even able to finish all my dessert (sacrilege!) because I so full of sugar already. It was a great birthday!

bridal shower

2007-10-13T05:53:00.000-07:00

Today I hosted a bridal shower! It was a lot of fun, but I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about it. I was wondering what cultural faux pas I was going to commit today without even realizing it. Were the red and gold flowers I bought actually a symbol of death in the culture? Did having an odd number of chairs mean I wished them bad luck? Was it wrong to serve coffee before chai? I had no clue, and honestly, if I did something wrong, I'll probably never know it anyway.

The hard part was that I was throwing somewhat of a third culture bridal shower, because the bride is South Asian, but she is a cousin, and she is also very Western. So for example, on the invitations (which were just printed on regular paper and passed out to everyone at the office), I was going to put this picture of bridal mehendi, until husband wisely suggested I call her sister just to double check if this picture was appropriate. I did, and her sister kindly told me that the wedding was going to be about as Western as it gets - white gown, no bangles, no mehendi, etc. So the invitations turned out like this.

The shower was pretty much last minute, a thought from some ladies in the English weekly group I attend. I offered our house, and since my "American cookies" (chocolate chip :) were specially requested, I made those. But other ladies chipped in with South Asian snacks and cake, so I really didn't do much. Another lady led a time of special requests for the upcoming wedding and marriage, and then the bride's sister led us in some games. There were about 20 ladies in attendance. Sounds a lot like American bridal showers, wouldn't you agree?

What's a bridal shower without food?

The mother of the bride is Auntie. (For those of you who read the baby blog, she is the same one who is loaning us the awesome baby crib) She was videoing all day.

The bride was asked to reenact the proposal.

The toilet paper bridal gown game transcends all borders. She's beautiful, isn't she?

your opinion is needed!

2007-10-04T01:19:00.000-07:00

"DVD's and books," was my response to my mom's question, "What do you want for Christmas?" She asked which ones, and now I'm at a loss for words. I don't know what DVD's are worthy of owning. Let me clarify...I don't know what chick flick DVD's that have come out since about August 2005 that are worthy of owning. So with that in mind, I need your help! What are some movies you think I'd enjoy having? One of my favorite things in the whole world is to put on a movie and scrapbook. But it has to be a certain kind of movie to scrapbook to. Here are some examples of what movies I already own that I watch a lot: Failure to Launch, Hitch, Mona Lisa Smile, Chocolat, Legally Blonde, Sweet Home Alabama, Notting Hill, You've Got Mail, etc.

So please comment and tell me what movies I've missed since being here that you think I'd enjoy. (Side note: I don't watch R rated movies, but most of this type aren't anyway.)

we won!

2007-09-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

Cricket mania is back, baby! Back a few months ago, "our" team lost in the cricket world cup, and everyone was so mad and depressed. Some of the star players' homes were trashed, and everyone had conspiracy theories. I thought I understood then just how crazy this country gets over cricket. But what we didn't know then is apparently there are two world cups! The second one is shorter and more viewer friendly, and started this month. It's been all Jaya can talk about, and she is very superstitious about her game watching practices. Well, as you can see by the picture, we won! I don't even understand cricket, but I am so proud of our guys. After the game was over, we heard crackers all night. The boys in blue arrived in the country today to a mob of well wishers and celebrations, and the news channels were on all day cricket coverage. Jaya made some snacks that her family only eats for major festivals, and she brought us some. We have nothing like this in the states, so I guess the best equivalent of it would be if America had one national baseball team, and our US Baseball team won the International World Series against our historical sports rival. Husband and I were trying to figure out who that rival would be, but we couldn't decide because we just have no basis of this.

Way to go, boys in blue!!

utmt barber

2007-09-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

Someone we know jokingly calls this common sight the UTMT Barber. (Under the Mango Tree) Need a haircut?

thanks, babel

2007-09-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

I've had more and more conversations where I've been forced to speak only the local language, no matter if what I'm discussing is something I know vocabulary for. And of course this leads to some pretty funny and embarrassing mishaps!

First, a couple of weeks ago, Kishori and Bhanu were over for lunch. We all speak English except for Kishori, but I like to speak what I can in her language so she feels included. That particular day, husband had a bit of the tummy troubles. Stomach is payt, and I knew that well because we have to explain to nationals a lot that we have weak stomachs and so we can't drink the water. Anyway, husband was eating very lightly, so I explained to them that his stomach was messed up. For some reason I said paat instead of payt. I corrected myself, but Kishori and Ashu were suppressing some giggles. Husband noticed and said, "Paat must mean something. What did she say?" Bhanu replied, and this is a direct quote, "It means fart."

Last week, once again I was with Kishori, this time at her weekly ladies group gathering. I was chatting with a young lady, and decided what the heck, I'll try to tell her my story in her language. This may seem impressive, but I memorized it awhile back, so it wasn't like I was coming up with it all on my own. She listened and enjoyed it, so feeling rather confident, I decided to go ahead and just tell her the great news as well. I've never tried this before, but I had a picture tool with me, so I thought it might be easy. I made it a little ways without a problem until I got to the part of being buried in the grave. I realized that I didn't know how to say grave, bury, tomb, or any other words relatively close! The picture showed a big stone and a very Roman-looking guard standing by it. So I pointed and said the only words I could think of, "There was a big rock, and the police."

200th!

2007-09-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

I have finally made it to my 200th post! Took me long enough!

Something you may not realize about this blog is that I have several reasons why I do it. The main reason is pretty sneaky - I like to show the interesting things about South Asia to my friends and family back in the States in hopes that maybe some of you would come to love this region as we do. Then maybe, just maybe, you would decide to come on a trip out here! But I also do it because I love to talk about South Asia, and I love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts!

So, in these remaining months, what would you like to see on this blog...more pictures, more work stories, more silly stories? Something else? I know we are all opinionated, so here's your chance to voice your opinions!

changes

2007-09-11T23:56:00.000-07:00

This common sight, something you see within seconds of stepping outside your house in the capital, may become a thing of the past. Hopefully soon there will be no more overcrowded, completely unsafe bus! The number of deaths officially caused by the bus lines so far this year is over 100. People run to hop onto buses, and hang out the doors as they travel down the roads. The bus drivers have been under a lot of scrutiny lately about their unsafe consideration of the other people and vehicles on the road.

The claims are that the city is working on high occupancy bus lanes which would reduce the interaction that cars and buses have on the roads. We think they are working on one just outside our neighborhood! This picture is the construction that is going on just a few steps from our house.

This city is capable of so much! The potential is high for an efficient and safe city. We've seen firsthand what they can accomplish - a very nice subway system opened last year or the year before. The trains are cleaner than any subway I've been on, it is efficient, it is nice and cold, and it is extremely cheap. They are also working on extending the area the trains can cover. If they can gather their resources once again, South Asia will look a lot different if they eradicate these buses for safer ones.

A personal change is that husband and I have gone green! We found those more energy efficient light bulbs in our neighborhood market. They cost an arm and a leg ($6 per bulb!) but the theory is we won't have to change the 5 bulbs we bought before we return to America, and our electricity bill will be lower.

meal with jaya

2007-09-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

Jaya and her family invited us over for dinner last weekend. We all have a lot in common, and when we are together, there is none of that awkward silence we find a lot when we visit a national's home.

The dinner turned out to also be a mini-celebration for me! Apparently there is a celebration during a woman's pregnancy around the 7th month where she will sit on a seat decorated with flowers, and friends will bring her gifts. Not gifts for the baby, but gifts for the mom-to-be! So when we finally sat down to dinner (at almost 9pm - very typical dinner time here!) I had the seat of honor. My place setting was decorated with flowers! It was very nice. Dinner was served, and it was delicious as usual. It was all veg of course - fresh veggies, lentils, a dish that is sort of similar to cottage cheese (but not really), rice, flat bread, homemade yogurt, and my favorite were the ginger potatoes.

After dinner, we all went into one of the bedrooms, where an AC was running. Up until this time, we were just under fans. As I've mentioned before, Jaya lives with her husband and in-laws, which is very common in South Asian families. Her in-laws are all artists and musicians; her father-in-law plays the violin, and her husband and mother-in-law sing. So they had asked husband before hand to bring his guitar, and he sang a couple of songs. Then the father-in-law played the violin, then Jaya's husband sang a couple of songs, etc. I had one embarrassing moment during his very serious and beautiful love song where sneezes attacked me. Of course.

After they all had their fun being musical, it was almost 11pm and time to leave. But Jaya wouldn't let us leave quite then because she had a surprise for us! She sat us down on the couch and brought us some gifts! She gave me a beautiful tan, red, and black sari. A sari ranges from 4 to 9 meters long, depending on what style it is, and you wrap it around strategically and then throw it over your shoulder. It's a very difficult thing for out-of-practice Westerners to wear, but it feels like you're playing dress up, so it's still a lot of fun. The over the shoulder part (the pallu) is sometimes decorated differently than the rest, like my new one. The red and black part is the pallu. They also gave husband some paintings done by Jaya's father-in-law! I actually like them a lot, and even more so that I know the artist and am friends with his family.

It was a great night and we were able to share a lot with them and build even more of a relationship. I am so thankful for Jaya's friendship!

bollywood 101

2007-08-28T23:26:00.000-07:00

Do yourself a favor - begin loading this video and don't forget to watch it!

I was requested by Deanna to do a Bollywood post, and being the self proclaimed unofficial biggest American Bollywood fan, I would never pass up such a request. So ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, here is your Cliff's Notes lesson in Bollywood!

If you love musicals, you would love Bollywood. As the name suggests, it is South Asia's version of Hollywood. But as Hollywood puts out a few hundred movies a year, Bollywood puts out over 1000! Granted, many, many of these movies are not up to the standard of Hollywood movies. Actually, I would say only a small percentage are, and even then, if you are a realist when movie-watching, you would pick them all to shreds.

The plots are usually shallow, unrealistic, and full of flaws. The dialogue can sometimes be cheesy. The acting and effects are over-dramatized. But if you can learn to look beyond that, you will discover the beauty these films have to offer. First of all, the settings and costumes are usually gorgeous, and several directors have learned how to play on the colors and scenery around the plot. Fanaa, for example, does a great job with this. In one song and dance sequence, the characters dance through historic monuments, and celebrate a patriotic holiday (pictured left), and then in another song, the backdrop is the stunning Himalayas, which shows the heroine dancing in a red lehenga amid falling red and gold leaves. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, one song plays on the colors of the main characters in New York and the strangers around them (pictured right). It's a feast for the eyes, even if you can't stand their voices.

Yes, the movies are long, but they are full of songs and dancing. This is by far my favorite part of the movies! South Asians can dance, y'all! And not just the women, but the men, too. All you gotta do is watch the fluid-like movements of Hrithik Roshan (main dancer in white in the above clip) and you will be entranced. I would give almost anything to be a dancer in a well choreographed Bollywood movie!

Most movies are based in South Asia, but some have scenes or entire settings in New York, London, Australia, etc. Some show the characters as traditional South Asians, wearing only saris and having arranged marriages. Others show them as modern characters, having Western friends and wearing jeans. But they all seem to have at least some bit of culture in them, which is something I really enjoy as well.

So Bole Chudiyan, the song and dance above, is a good way to tiptoe into Bollywood. You have the beautiful setting and costumes, and a small lesson in a cultural celebration of a karva chauth festival; you have a young love story between Kareena Kapoor (girl in pink) and Hrithik; you have the Indian wife nagging the husband with Kajol (girl in red) and Shahrukh Khan (other guy in white, but with gray scarf); you have the over dramatization with Hrithik's tears and fantasy-sequence of his family's reunion; and last of all, you have Amitabh Bachchan (the older guy with the white goatee), or Big B, as he is called here. He is by far the biggest name in Bollywood, followed by Shahrukh Khan.

My favorite movie is Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which this song and dance is from. If you're gonna watch one Bollywood movie in your entire life, I'd definitely suggest this one! Just give yourself some time - it's over 3 hours long. Don't worry - DVD's have subtitles.

There is so much more I can say, but like I said, this is the Cliff's Notes version. So here are some fun facts about Bollywood:

Many writers/directors will give their movies auspicious names according to pundits. This is why most of Karan Johar's films start with a K and have 4 words.
Sometimes the actors will even keep the same character names because the previous film did well. For example, Shahrukh Khan and Kajol play love interests in both Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and KKKG - and in both films, their names are Rahul and Anjali.
Kajol is Karan Johar's lucky mascot. That's why she shows up randomly in some songs even if she's not in the film.
Kajol and SRK are my favorites! (pictured left)
Husband likes Priyanka Chopra and Hrithik Roshan the best.
Aishwarya Rai (pictured right with husband Abhishek Bachchan) has been on Oprah a few times. Oprah calls her the most beautiful woman in the world. She is beautiful, but more importantly, I think her manager was a genius.
At the time, Aishwarya told Oprah she would never kiss onscreen. Last fall, she kissed Hrithik Roshan onscreen in Dhoom:2.
My sis-in-law told me that when Abhi and Aish were planning their wedding earlier this year, it was such big news that even Us Weekly put them in the magazine. They called them the Brangelina of Bollywood!
Most of the time, the voices during songs are not that of the actors. But sometimes they do their own, like when Abhishek rapped Right Here, Right Now in Bluffmaster.

Now, check out the video!

birthday party

2007-08-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

We went to a good friends' birthday party last week. It was at their house about an hour and a half from ours, almost across the state border. They told us it started at 7pm, and we thought that meant South Asian time, so we left at 6:15. But they had already started the celebration by the time we got there! This family all received such joyful hearts a few years ago, and so of course the party started with wholehearted and jubilant music. It was so loud, we could hear it as we came down the street!

So this is what we arrived to:

I'm in here - can you find me?

What about husband? ;)

After the music and speaking (husband was asked to speak too) we gathered on their patio for ice cream, and sang "Happy Birthday" about 3 times!: Later, some guys even asked husband to show them how to play it on the guitar, so then we all sang it again! After cake, we had dinner and sat around and talked. I had lots of language practice that night! They wouldn't let husband and I leave without making us take home enough leftovers for a week.

And here is a little boy who was there that kept showing me his picture on his mom's camera phone: Something funny about South Asia (and East Africa too!) is that the people may not have a lot of money, but they always have nicer cell phones than us.

is that a breeze i feel?

2007-08-21T02:13:00.000-07:00

This picture may seem weird, but it is a summertime milestone. Not only is our AC not on in the middle of the day, but our screen door is open, letting in a breeze! The high today was only 93 (heat index of 98). For about a week now, we've been sleeping with the AC on only about half the night. Is this really August weather? Two years ago, when we arrived in South Asia, we stayed the last half of August in the Capital, and I remember being miserably hot. Was it hotter then, or was I just adjusting from the "normal" weather of the States to the hot weather of South Asia? Either way, hopefully this week is indication of a light at the end of the tunnel!

kaun hai jo?

2007-08-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

Kaun hai jo = Who are you? Well I think it means that anyway. There's a cheesy song on Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham with that title, so that's where I picked it up.

Every now and then, I get a comment on my blog from people I don't know. It's always fun and a big surprise because I figured I was lucky if my mom was still reading it. I have Sitemeter on my blog that shows where people are reading my blog, or who has referred them, etc. But there are many I don't know. Who's my Polish reader, my Seattle reader, my Florida reader? What about the Kentuckian, the Dallas-ite, and the Slovakian? I don't even really know who my hometown readers are.

I'm dying to know, so tell me...kaun hai jo?

anniversary

2007-08-12T04:27:00.000-07:00

Today is exactly 2 years since we arrived in South Asia. Has it really been 2 years already?

The boss has brought us through so many trials and triumphs, joys and fears, frustrations and achievements, grief and lessons learned, and good and bad situations. He is always faithful, and we know he will be with us through our remaining 10 months with this term, and the many trials and triumphs, etc, that will inevitably come.

I think today calls for a Top 10, don't you? Favorite South Asian Times of the Last 2 Years:

10. Finally getting a bb gun to arm ourselves against the monkeys.
9. October in the Himalayas.
8. Learning to converse, however badly, in another language. Better yet, learning to read and write in another script.
7. Mango season!
6. Watching Chini get all mad over the monkeys.
5. Dancing at the sangeet at the first wedding I attended here.
4. Discovering things that make life a little easier here in the Capital, like all the deliveries.
3. Visiting the grand palaces, historic monuments, forts, and ruins located all around this country.
2. Beginning my love affair with all things Bollywood.
1. Seeing lives that have been changed - both mine and nationals.

cultural thoughts

2007-08-10T23:46:00.000-07:00

Jaya said something to me the other day that I found very interesting.

Her son is 13, and went on a class outing the other day to watch Spiderman 3. Funny, it never sounded weird until I just typed that a class outing would be a movie. Maybe it was for English class or something? I know their schools don't have air conditioners, so maybe it was just an excuse to sit in cool air for awhile. Anyway back to the story. After she told me they saw it, I remarked that I thought it was a good movie and asked what he had thought of it. Jaya looked a bit scandalized and said he had come home and told her that there had been much kissing in the film! She was so upset that their teachers had taken the students to watch a movie that had kissing in it! Not to mention it was a co-ed group. As I've mentioned before, Bollywood movies rarely have kissing in them. They will do things that are shocking to us as Westerners, like suggestive dances or kissing each others' necks. But apparently kissing on the mouth is worse, in their worldview. Jaya told me that she and her husband have been very careful to not let their son see movies with kissing, and so up until he was 13, he hadn't seen any of that. She said this is why he isn't allowed to watch English movies, because, to quote her, "I don't think Hollywood would know how to make a movie if there was no kissing in it." She herself rarely watches English movies because they embarrass her, even the ones, like Spiderman 3, that to us as Americans seem tame.

None of this really took me by surprise because I've grown accustomed to their ideas of modesty and public displays of affection. I was a little taken aback that Jaya's 13 year old had never seen a movie with kissing until last week, but even then, I wasn't shocked. But I thought about it later, and began wondering. I love South Asia and feel like I'm relatively adjusted by now. Things that bothered my American-ness at first arrival, I don't even bat an eye at now. But the one thing I still have a hard time with is the way many of the men stare here. I'm not an expert by any means, but in the few cultures I've traveled to - East Africa, a modern Arab country, Southeast Asia, Western Europe, Mexico, the US, and South Asia - I have never been stared at or harassed the way I have been in South Asia. I don't mean to put all men here down, but it is very noticeable.

I don't think there is an average family here, because the culture is too diverse for that. But Jaya's family isn't atypical, so I know her views are representative of many others. It makes me wonder then, if they don't even watch these so-called kissing movies, why the men here behave the way they do? They aren't exposed to these PDA's nearly as much as we are in the West - so why do they behave, in this particular way at least, worse than many other places in the world?

I don't have an answer for that. Any thoughts?

yes, i have a delivery order

2007-08-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

Something really cool we have here in the Capital is that anyone and everyone delivers. Not just the pizza and Chinese food places, but we're talking the butcher, the Momo guy, McDonald's, Subway, and best of all, the grocer! I love that I can call up my little neighborhood market and order milk, eggs, bread, and oil, or something like that, and in 10 minutes it'll be in my kitchen. It's awesome! But, sometimes it doesn't work so easily. The wife of the man who owns the shop is always very frustrating to get on the phone. We can't figure it out - either she hates her job and rebels when we call, or she speaks one of the other national languages that we don't know. Usually after saying "hello?" three or four times (that's the South Asian way of saying, "I don't speak English.") she'll pass us on to her husband or one of the shop boys who understands our accent. But I learned yesterday that sometimes even that doesn't work. I was calling to order 10 eggs, dish soap called Pril, laundry detergent, milk, cheese, and juice. I've done this a thousand times before, and I also do it in their language (which I'm sure is heavily accented, but they can understand). This is how the conversation went:

Lady: Hello?
Me: Yes, hello, I have a delivery order.
Lady: Hello?
Me: Yes, hello, I have a delivery order.
Lady: Hello?
Me: (Pause) Delivery.
Lady: Yes?
Me: 10 eggs...
Lady: And?
Me: Pril.
Lady: What?
Me: Dish soap, Pril.
Lady: What?
Me: P-R-I-L.
Lady: V?
Me: No, P for Punjab.
Lady: C?
Me: P for Punjab.
Lady: D?
Me: No, no. Dish soap. Dish soap.
Lady: (shuffling noise as she hands the phone off)
Man: Hello?
Me: Yes, I have a delivery order.
Man: Yes?
Me: 10 eggs...
Man: And?
Me: Pril dish soap.
Man: What?
Me: Soap.
Man: Laril?
Me: No, not bathing soap. Dish soap.
Man: Bathing soap?
Me: No, not bathing soap. Dish soap.
Man: Ohh, dish soap.
Me: Yes sir.
Man: Dish soap?
Me: Yes, sir.
Man: You want dish soap?
Me: Yes.
Man: What kind?
Me: I don't care.
Man: What kind?
Me: Pril.
Man: Pril?
Me: Yes, sir.
Man: Anything else?
Me: No.

Haha. The milk, cheese, juice, and laundry detergent would have to wait another day.

let's relax

2007-07-27T02:29:00.000-07:00

Gotta brag on husband for a minute. He came home from class the other day and told me he asked around and found out about a spa that has "great ambiance" that he wanted me to go and spend an afternoon at. He said that I deserved to relax since he knew it must be uncomfortable carrying a baby. He wanted me to get this certain 4 hour package that has all these cool treatments and sounds really expensive, but in reality is a fraction of the cost in the US. But naturally I couldn't get a lot of the massages and treatments because of being pregnant, so he gave me a price range and just told me to go and pick! So today, I went to this very soothing spa and got foot reflexology, hand reflexology, and a neck, shoulder, and back massage. It was pure bliss. Since I was well under his price I did what any pregnant woman would do - after the massage I stopped in at Haagen-Dazs and had a scoop of Banoffee ice cream! My hubby sure knows how to pamper his wife - what a great husband!

Yes, let's!

tour of northern thailand

2007-07-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we took a day trip through some touristy spots in Northern Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma). It was lots and lots of riding around in a van (we were gone 13 hours!) but we did get to stop and do some interesting things. And as I mentioned on the baby blog, our baby is a well traveled fetus, having been "carried" into 6 different countries now. :)

On our tour we saw many, many buddhas, one of which cost about $3 million to build; took a boatride over to Laos where we had 45 minutes to shop (we bought a wooden vase that had "Laos" carved into it) and mail off a few post cards; we rode that same boat past a Burmese casino that wouldn't even let you in unless you could show them you had in cash 20,000 thai bhat (almost $700); ate a buffet Thai lunch and tried to engage our fellow travelers into conversations to no avail; drove to the northernmost province of Thailand; the two of us had to walk over to Myanmar, get our passport stamped and pay for a Burmese visa, then turn around and walk back to Thailand to get our new updated Thai visa, all fast enough so that our fellow travelers wouldn't get bored while waiting on us; drove to a Hill Tribe village to look around and walk up and down very steep hills; husband took the hike over to the Long Neck Village (seriously that's the name) while I sat waiting for the group because they felt that someone as pregnant as I am should not be hiking (?); my "so pregnant" self sat and watched some of the villagers interact and felt very sad to realize that these long neck women only wore the rings on their necks because of tourists like us, and I vowed to research things better next time; drove back to Chiang Mai, making a nice pitstop at a 7-11 along the way.

Headed to Laos, home of Khan Souphanousinphone!

Snake and Scorpion Whiskey in Laos

Million Dollar Buddha

Province of northern Thailand

Hill Tribe Village

Long Neck Girls. The guide told husband that historically they wore the rings to protect their necks from tigers.

View of Long Neck Village from Hill Tribe Village

thailand food, not to be confused with thai food

2007-07-18T01:37:00.000-07:00

We always get really excited about coming to Thailand because of the food! We're not fanatics of Thai food, we actually rarely eat it while here. Instead, we eat all the American/Western food we can get. I know, I know, that sounds horribly ethnocentric, but we only get Burger King, Starbucks, Steaks, Fried Shrimp, ribs, hot dogs, pork, etc, biannually, so you better believe that's what we eat. And it helps that I'm not a huge fan of Thai food anyway.

BUT...Thailand has awesome fruit! I can't believe I'm admitting this, but before moving to South Asia, I never knew the wolrd had more varieties of fruit and vegetables than what we could get in the States. So, in honor of my ignorance, I decided to put pics of just some of the fruit we eat here in Thailand. And yes, I realize this is pretty dorky. The one famous Asian fruit I don't have a picture of is the durian. It has the most horrific smell and is even banned from most hotels. I think my camera, myself, and the entire internet would smell permanently if I got close enough to a durian to take a picture, so I declined.

Do you know the names of any of these?

Husband calls these "Jewish mangoes":
I think these are the most stylish of fruits, with their hot pink, white and black colors:
The "hairy strawberries":

And these aren't fruit, but they are my new favorite candy. I don't even know what they're called or what they're made out of, but I love them. Most have the same flavor despite their different colors, kinda like a coconut, with other flavors like peanuts or something mixed in.

tagged!

2007-07-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

My friend from Paris days, Christine (weird calling her that, I knew her as Chrissy :) tagged me on her blog, so I'm being faithful in my re-posting duties.

8 interesting (or not so interesting?) things about me:

1. I've walked on sandy paths and mountain roads and the filth of South Asian streets, but the one place I can not stand to walk on is wet grass. Something about it really disgusts me.
2. After hearing the horror stories about worms on this side of the world, I am terrified that one day I will sneeze and a worm will come out my nose.
3. I love that living in the Himalayas for a year taught me how to cook almost anything from scratch. But I still can't master a simple omelet.
4. I loved Encyclopedia Brown books growing up, and thought he was a genius. I never could figure out how he could recognize the tiniest, most insignificant detail and solve a crime. Husband found a used one and gave it to me on my birthday, and I read one story to him to amaze him with Encyclopedia's skills...but we both solved it immediately. I was sad the mysterious days of Police Chief Brown's genius son were over.
5. I do not like to shop. But I can bargain with the best of 'em.
6. I haven't driven a car in 2 years, and I'm scared I have forgotten how to drive.
7. I'm a huge dork when it comes to spreadsheets and organization. (and probably lots of other things) I create spreadsheets for no real reason, with charts and graphs and pretty formatting and things. Seeing spreadsheets in Times New Roman font and black and white colors bore me.
8. I never, ever read non-fiction books.

I tag: Sarah, Alison, Andrea, Alicia, Husband, Julie, Beki, Janet

the thai boathouse

2007-07-14T02:15:00.000-07:00

I guess I can retire Jaya's reminder post now. But don't stop thinking about her and her family!

So we're about halfway through our stay here in Thailand. It's been quite eventful so far, but will be slowing down a lot starting next week when husband's schooling starts. I'm pretty sure my remaining days here will be filled with scrapbooking, swimming, and Starbucks. After our 10 days of meetings, we went on a really cool weekend getaway with some of our friends from Capital - another young couple and a family. We stayed in a boathouse on a lake that we never learned the name of. After the entrance fee incident, we loaded our bags on a long tail boat and sailed the waters to our humble abode. Soon we understood why they told us the boat ride to the house was about $5 a person, but a car ride there would be free. I'm sure that's quite the running joke at the national park.

Our rooms were simple - we had no electricity, save for the generator that ran from 6pm to 5am so we could have a fan on while we slept. It also turned on for about 20 minutes right after breakfast so we could fill up our barrel of water for the day. Yep, no running water either. And I couldn't begin to list the amount of items that dropped into the lake never to be seen again. But we had beautiful scenery, a lake to swim in, high dives to jump off of, inner-tubes to float around in, a little rickety rowboat, 3 tasty meals cooked for us, and so on. All we were missing was my dad and his boat, pulling us on skis, kneeboards, and tubes all day. It was a lot of fun, and we would definitely do it again. Although this time we'd bring a battery operated fan with us.

I'll blog again real soon about our day tour of the Golden Triangle.

Jaya

2007-06-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

We're leaving for Thailand, so I may not be able to blog as often. Since you may come to the page periodically and see the same post for awhile, I thought I'd try to do a reminder post. I'm going to post about my good friend Jaya*, and my hope is that every time you come to this page and see the same post, you will be reminded to lift up Jaya.

I met Jaya earlier this year walking in the park. She was walking with her mom, who happens to live next door to her. We struck up a conversation, and I asked her last name in case she was a J. Her last name was not a common J last name, so I figured she must not be one. Then, about month later, she told me that is a J! Isn't that just like the boss to introduce me to one of the few J's living in our neighborhood?

Jaya married the boy next door (literally) and has a son. Her husband, by hobby, is a musician, and his parents are artists. Like most typical families here, they live with her husband's parents. If she lived in America, she would be the team mom in little league. Every so often, she hosts some sort of game (usually cricket) for her son and any of his friends, at a local sports complex, and provides lunch and prizes for all the kids. Every time I go walking with her, a dozen kids will come up to her at different times calling her Auntie and asking her questions. She thinks she doesn't have many friends, but she is well known in the neighborhood.

We joke a lot when we are together, and she laughs often and loudly. We talk about Bollywood probably too much. She loves SRK even more than I do. She says she used to talk about him so much that her husband refuses to watch any of his movies now! Jaya loves to serve us food, snacks, ice cream, or lemonade any time we come over, and will even bring food to us when she makes more than her family can eat. They also have the fattest yellow lab I think I've ever seen, and she tells me he has a crush on me, because every time I go over there, he freaks out. They can't even bribe him away from me with food, and have taken to locking him up in a room when I am over because otherwise he jumps on me, and like I said, he is too fat for that. Jaya tells me all about their culture and says that I am even more South Asian than some of the real South Asians. She tells me I am too formal with her though, and I've had to convince her that should treat me the way she would treat a South Asian - not call before coming over, etc. It's so hard for me to not call before showing up at someone's house that I still call her, and I guess she's decided to follow my lead.

Jaya is very excited for the arrival of the baby. She told me she's coming over every day after the baby is born. She's also really excited to meet my mom and mother-in-law. I think they will love her!

She has a certain room in her house where she does worship to her idols. (this is very typical) She never goes to the temple, but does all the offerings at her house. I have shared with her my story in two languages, and also the good news. I have told her a couple of stories from the book. She loves to hear about my beliefs, but she doesn't see hers as any different. I will be gone for a month - please join me in asking that the boss will work in her heart, and the hearts of all her family members, while I am away. My hope is that I come back and they all have questions for me and husband, and that they accept the truth.

the gas men

2007-06-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

The other day, the gas men came to our place as a safety house call. They flashed their official gas men cards and I let them in. They were checking our stove. Our stove sits on top of the counter and has 4 burners and 4 knobs, and that's all it has. That's the way stoves are here - South Asia hasn't quite modernized enough for the nice ranges with built-in ovens and timers and broilers and all that. It's just a stove, nothing else. And it's a gas stove, which I've actually come to appreciate a lot more than electric stoves because you light the burner, and immediately it's hot.

All stoves here have a big gas cylinder connect to them through a regulator and some sort of hose. Now, most kitchens are equipped with a place to put this cylinder - under the counter, in a shelf, etc. But not ours. So our big ol' gas cylinder just sits in the middle of the kitchen and we're always having to slide it around to get into cabinets and such. We've gotten used to it, so it's not a big deal. But I'm sure visitors find it pretty amusing.

So back to the gas men. This is the first time we've had them come by for a courtesy safety check, so I was pretty intrigued. They came to check on a gas leak, and I tried explaining to them that I had no money with me at the time, and one of the men seemed extremely insulted by this comment. "It is for your safety!" he practically yelled at me. Glad to know the gas company takes gas leaks seriously.

I have no idea how they do it in the states, but here, they test for gas leaks in a very unorthodox way - by lighting a match. First, they turned on all 4 burners at one time. Then he asked for a matchbook. Actually he asked for a candle, and when I handed him one, he was extremely confused. Finally I figured out his word "candle" really meant matches. So he lit the match and held it at each knob on the stove to check for a leak. Two of the knobs caught on fire (their reactions were pretty funny to this, but it's impossible to describe) meaning two of the knobs had a leak. The men tightened up some stove parts under the stove, jotted down their number for husband to call about replacing the two knobs, and then left.

It all happened very fast, and at the time I didn't think anything weird of it until I told husband in the vicinity of our volunteer team. They all looked at me very strangely when I mentioned he checked for a gas leak by lighting matches. See, this is why I need Americans fresh from the states around me so I can be reminded how odd things seem sometime.

random bits and pieces

2007-06-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

My mom said I'm not blogging enough. I told her she doesn't comment on my blog so she has no voice to complain, but she did carry me for 9 hot months and gave birth to me, so I guess she gets a voice by default. I have nothing of blog-worthy nature right now, but here goes my best shot.

1. I have a baby blog. If you want the address, email me and I'll be happy to send the link to you.
2. We leave for Thailand next week! I get to eat beef and seafood, swim, stay on a lake for 2 nights, get out of the heat/monsoon (although it is rainy season there now too), and find out the sex of the baby. Will he be EJR? Or will she be HER? How funny, I never realized the girl name's initials.
3. Speaking of beef, I've been missing meatloaf lately. I love my mom's meatloaf! I got an idea yesterday and after a delivery from our butcher, a check online for special instructions (there were none), and a quick phone call to my mom, I finished up with mutton meatloaf! Yea! It tasted exactly the same. Why didn't I think of that before?
4. Husband is blogging again! Will it last? :)

hot season parties

2007-06-13T06:02:00.000-07:00

I think the heat has driven us to entertain ourselves, because this week has been full of parties! First, last Saturday night, some of our friends in the eastern part of town hosted a ladies game night. I finally got to stay a night at the famous "EDH", there was more food than we could eat, and ended up playing a big game of Taboo. Is it boasting to say that my team won? :)

Then, we had our team and three others over to our house on Sunday. They wanted to watch a Bollywood movie, and well, I would never stop anyone from cheesy musical fun. All 14 of us gathered into our bedroom because that's the room with the A/C. They all really enjoyed it (well, all but the two who fell asleep, and frankly, I blame jet lag) and I even caught several tearing up. They have been asking me to take them to a movie store to buy some more, so I'm glad that I could convince them, if not my parents, to watch it. Maybe it takes being here to fully enjoy the movies?

And finally, there was a farewell party this week for 3 of our friends last night. 2 of them, J&K, are leaving tomorrow, and then next week, LR is leaving. Goodbyes are the nature of our business, but that doesn't mean we won't miss them. Our Capital team really got into American Idol this year, so the farewell party was AI themed. And it was put together by our storytelling team here, so as AD, our "Ryan Seacrest" said, last night was American Idol, Story Telling theme night. 3 contestants told some oft-forgotten but fun stories from our beloved Book, mentored by a "world renowned" storyer with a questionable accent, and then the contestants were judged. I was asked to be Paula - should I be insulted...? Anyway, after the stories, the hostess pointed out who was really going home this week, and we had a nice little time of goodbyes.

Contestant #1 telling a story about a king getting eaten by worms. She pointed out this was a story the audience could relate to.

Fans holding up signs for those going home

I love our team here. They are so creative. I mean, they even made signs, like "Mom the Bomb" or "Lindsey Frenzy." How cool are these people??

we're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave....

2007-06-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

Our team is here! They are the biggest troopers too because, and I don't think you'll even believe me when I say this, but this past weekend we had quite the heat wave and the high on Saturday and Sunday was 120 degrees!! (according to weatherbug) On Friday night, I went walking in our park with Jaya from 7-8, and we kept exclaiming over and over again how incredibly nice it felt outside, such a cool relief after the 117 degree day. I got home after the walk and saw that it was still 108 outside! haha And this weekend the weather is supposed to go back down to 105 or so, and we are all looking forward to that "cool front".

So what does 115+ degrees feel like? Well I'll give a few examples. There is no such thing as a cold shower anymore, because the black water tanks are located on the roofs. We went two days without any water, and when the water man came to look at it, he discovered that our water pump had actually melted. Speaking of melting, one of my magazines melted. That's not as surprising as one of my friends here - she told me her bathing suit straps had melted. (!) Chocolate is no longer in a hard form. You literally drink water all day long and never have to go to the bathroom. And finally, if you really want the full effect, just get a hair dryer and blow it in your face. That is our breeze. :)

The paper yesterday said it hasn't been this hot since 1945. I told my mom that, and she laughed and said welcome to her second pregnancy! Apparently when she was pregnant with me was the hottest summer they had had in decades. So now I'm getting paid back for the pain I caused my mom. :)

So the moral of this blog is don't come visit us in June.

good ideas

2007-06-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

After having experienced life in South Asia, I can't help but compare it to life in America. And I've noticed that, of course, there are things that America has to offer to South Asia, but surprisingly, South Asia has some to offer to America as well.

We'll take what South Asia could glean from America first: people who keep track of medical records. First of all, this is a country of a billion people, many of whom could use a better job, or a job at all. Why not employ some people to work at doctor's offices and hospitals who keep the medical records? Instead of what to me seems like such a logical thing, the patients themselves have to hold on to our own records, and lug them around everytime we go back to the doctor. There are no patient charts, and doctors here have no comprehension why this crazy foreigner has once again forgotten to bring her records with her, and so makes it hard on the doctor to figure out how to treat her or know her history. I try, really I do. But I am so accustomed to not having to take anything but money to the doctor's office that I forget about half the time to take my charts with me. South Asia, why not make it easier not only on the patients, but also on the unemployed, and hire some people to keep record of medical charts?

There are 2 great ideas that work here that I think should be copied in America, pronto. One is the movie theater seating charts. I can't tell you how many times we have gone to the movies in America, getting there pretty early too, only to find that there are no two seats together, and the people already sitting refuse to move over one seat. Here, when you buy your tickets, you also must pick out where you will sit. They show you a little diagram of the movie theater, you pick out your seats, they print the seat numbers on the tickets, no one has surprises when they arrive in the theater, neither did they have to arrive 5 hours before the movie started just to make sure they could sit together, and everyone is happy.

Another great idea to introduce to America is the traffic light timer. When you sit at some traffic lights here, you can see a little countdown timer telling you just how much longer it is until your light turns green, or the opposite, how much time you have before your green light turns red. And if that's not enough to lower stress during traffic, if you do miss the green light and have wait, the red lights will sometimes actually say, "Relax" on them. Who can stay stressed with that reminder?

summer in the city

2007-05-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

You know it's summertime in the Capital when...

You wake your spouse up by exclaiming, "Honey it's a cool one today. The high is only supposed to be 100!"
Even the cows fight for a spot in the shade in the park and the mosquitoes have given up completely.
You cook your dinner in the early morning because otherwise you melt.
You look forward to your nightly cold shower.
You think, it's almost June. Time for my bi-annual de-worming pill.
Your friendly neighborhood ice cream wallah isn't open during the afternoon because, "It's too hot for ice cream."
Locals wear watermelon hats.

What should I add to the list?

Top 10 of Paris and Venice

2007-05-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to figure out how to summarize an incredible 12 night vacation into a few words and pics. That's why it has taken me forever to blog about our vacation. I figured out I could do a top 10. Anytime I don't have a good picture of the listed item, I'll put one of our many shots of the Eiffel Tower, because they are just too beautiful to pass up. These are in no particular order:

10. Ste. Chappelle Cathedral - the best new thing I saw this trip. There are over 1100 stories from the Book depicted in the huge stained-glass windows, and we just sat and stared and tried to pick out stories we recognized.

9. The Eiffel Tower - the most visited place this trip. I went twice, husband went four times! It was just as beautiful as I remembered. Husband and I had one night to ourselves before my family arrived, and he chose the Eiffel Tower as the place to go. We sat there at sunset and watched the twinkling lights come on, then as it grew dark, the full lights came on, making it look golden. We vowed the next time to bring a blanket, some bread and cheese, but of course forgot. Something to go back for, right?

8. Alex and Maribel - best guides in Venice. They owned the B&B where we stayed, and helped us "conquer Venezia" in only 60 hours. Alex had the best Italian accent ever, spoke wildly with his hands, tried to convince me that I could drink wine while pregnant, and everything he recommended was perfect. He sat husband down every morning after breakfast and would go over our itinerary for the day. He pointed us to the places the Venetians ate, and used the best expressions. One place, for instance, had the best fried calamari. "The owner he fries everything even his mustache."

7. San Marco Piazza - best free entertainment. According to Alex, we shouldn't do St. Mark's Square during the day, so we checked it out first at night. We had already eaten dinner (at the aforementioned mustache man's place) so we just strolled around the square, enjoying the atmosphere. Live string quartets played at several outside restaurants, and we could stand and listen to them. Many people around us would break out in dancing, and then when the song was over, we'd walk around and listen to the next quartet. Husband wanted to find where Indiana Jones came out of a manhole, but unfortunately, we couldn't see it.

6. My family - best family ever! It was so good to see them, laugh with them, talk with them, and explore Paris with them. And I think they even went away liking Paris, so I was happy. We didn't eat nearly enough pastries, nor did we make it to all the sights, finish Khabhi Khushi Khabhie Gham (oh yes I most certainly did), or play any games, but we enjoyed just being together again. The twins gave us lots of entertainment, especially with how excited they got for the choo-choo train (the subway and also the train that drove around Montmartre) and how they would say, "Bonjour!" when prompted. They were very good travelers, especially when Mimi or their strollers were in sight.

5. The Lido - best island in Venice. We stayed off the main area of Venice on the island of Lido, where they actually had cars instead of boats, and streets instead of canals. But somehow, they still managed to have that great Venice feel, with sidewalk cafes, and smaller canals, and colorful buildings. Husband remarked that towns in the US are paying big money to achieve what the Lido had.

4. The Louvre - best comeback. I am not an art museum person at all. So I only went to the Louvre because husband and my family wanted to go. I wasn't expecting much, so I was very surprised to enjoy the museum more this time around, especially seeing the architecture. And also the Royal Apartments were beautiful, too. This was husband's favorite thing he did in Paris. You can't take pics inside the Louvre (much, anyway) so here is an outside shot of the former largest palace in the world, now most famous museum.

3. Bike Riding - best way to see a city or an island. Husband, my dad and brother went on a bike tour of Paris one day. They said it was a lot of fun, and husband got a peek at sights that he went back and saw further, like Musee d'Orsay or the Rodin House. In Venice, our B&B had free bikes, so one morning/afternoon we cruised around the Lido, checking out the Mediterranean Sea. We found my favorite place that we ate at (those Italians really know how to do lasagna! :) and we took a break on the beach and walked in the Mediterranean.

2. Relaxing in Venice - best place to go after the action of Paris. There's not a lot to do in Venice except stare at the surrounding beauty, eat gelato, and relax. And so that's what we did. Since the first trimester has been demanding sleep of me, one afternoon we just went to San Elena island, spread out a blanket, and took a nap in the park. We weren't alone; there were many locals napping around us as well. We spent most of our time just wandering the streets and alleys, and unwinding after a fun-packed week in Paris.

1. Being in the West - best moments for reverse culture shock. Husband and I could hold hands in public. We also did the unthinkable - we drank from the faucet and ate fruits and veggies without poisoning them first. Let me tell you how wrong that felt. Speaking of fruits and veggies, have tomatoes, oranges, and bananas always been that big? Oh, the yogurt selection! And the cheese and meat! And pre-made foods and sauces, along with cartoned milk, lots of cereal, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, kolaches, and breads galore! Cars didn't honk, there were lines with no cutting allowed, and we blended in. We really didn't know what to think of all of it.

there's something in the water filter

2007-05-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

There once was a girl you all knew
Four years back with a man said, "I Do."
They moved across the sea
In South Asia they now be
And now she is eating for two.

global village

2007-04-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went to an event that's put on by the Times newspaper, called the Times Global Village. It's only in town for a few weeks, and it's really worth checking out! It had different tents from different countries, and inside these tents were shops selling things that really are from those places! Inside the Africa tent (well...Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, and Zimbabwe tent), there was shop after shop selling the exact items we saw and bought in Tanzania, like the little wooden carved giraffes and Masai warriors, tinga-tinga paintings, and batiks. (Made me miss you, Al!) The UK got its own tent, but the US did not. We did get a special mention at the International Tent, with a pic of Mt. Rushmore (??) for added emphasis.

We tried out food from the different regions of the country, and were pretty stuffed before we turned the corner and saw all the international places - Czech Republic, Turkey, Africa, UAE, Thailand, China...there was so much to see that we ran out of time. We realized we had wasted our time in the South Asia section! It was a lot of fun, and really cool to see everything. They also had performers from different countries, although it seemed like most of them were from this country...or maybe not, I couldn't really tell. By the way, it's so dusty now that you can't take flash pics without dust particles showing up.

Today's High: 106; Today's High in Paris: 78 (yes I am looking forward to it! :)

boat ride

2007-04-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I posted that the weather was so nice that I felt like I should be headin' to the lake. While that's not quite true now, about a week or so ago, we went with some friends to check out a few sites in the Capital. The first stop was a crematorium. I know, I know, not your typical #1 Hit on the sight-seeing route. But it's a great place to see some of the culture, because a large percentage of South Asians believe in cremation and dying auspiciously. This means many things, but one thing it can mean is setting the body off into the holy river, or in the case of the Capital, a branch of the river. And this particular crematorium is on that river, so you can see a lot of what they try to do to pass their relatives on successfully into their next life. We got there pretty early, before any of the ceremonies were taking place. So while we were taking pictures, a man on a small wooden boat on the bank of the river called to us and with a swoop of his arm motioned for us to come for a ride. We weren't sure where we were going, but we knew we may not have this opportunity again, so we very carefully stepped around all the trash on the bank of the river, and who knows what else, and got into the boat. He rowed us over to the other side of the river, where there was a small temple. We got out and took some more pics, and found it really funny that on this somewhat island of a temple, there was a dog. How did he get there? Even though the river was pretty dirty, it was fun to ride around in an old wooden boat, and was really nice!

Who knew when I said I'd like to head out to the lake, that I'd get the next best thing - a boat ride on a polluted river!

High Today: 104; High Today in Paris: 80

the downfall of the mosquito dynasty

2007-04-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

In our spare bedroom, we have a glass-less window. It was designed for a window AC unit, but since we only have one AC, it goes in our bedroom not the spare, and we have no window. The mosquitoes are awful, and they just swarm in the spare bedroom. Malaria and dengue fever are risks here, so we have to be real careful about the mosquitoes, and it can get a little frustrating that they just never go away! Well we had some friends tell us about this really cool product they have here...mosquito rackets! We bought two today and have already had way too much fun with them. They are little tennis rackets with wires that electrocute the mosquitoes! You can actually see them disintegrate in a quick blaze. They say on the there, "This is not a toy," but I don't really agree with that! They are fun, and stress relievers too. I have a feeling that a lot of bad days out will end with some fun mosquito zapping when I get home. Why aren't these in the states? Is this a bit like the Bag o'Glass on that old SNL skit of dangerous toys? Or have we failed to realize the potential for entertainment in mosquito swatting?

High Today: 107, High Today in Paris: 73

2007-04-08T00:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Resurrection!

This morning, we went to the sunrise service at 5:45am. It was held at some really nice gardens here in the Capital. The gardens are home to several very very old tombs (from the 15th-16th centuries!) and were the perfect setting for a sunrise service on this special day. As the leader pointed out to us, we were surrounded by all these tombs, but we know that the tomb of our boss is empty!

Many Capital-dwellers come to this garden for their physical and spiritual exercises. As we walked to join our group, we saw many people doing Yoga. (to get a glimpse of the true meaning of Yoga, read this) But many others were doing their cardio or toning exercises, which to a Westerner, can look pretty funny. (check out the nicely dressed guy doing his stretches on the bench!) We in the West are cool, with our jogging and cross-trainer machines, or our serious weightlifting. During the service, while the speaker was talking, husband whispered to me that I should look behind the speaker. I peeked around him and saw a man doing jumping jacks! Right behind the speaker! It was pretty funny, especially considering the moment. But it's sad too that this is just another day to most of them.

By the way, I did not take the jumping jack guy's pic during the service. He was still jumping after the service was over, so we snagged the opportunity. :)

Today's High: 94; High Today in Paris: 63

recital

2007-04-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

I've come to realize that no matter where you are in the world, He will provide others there to teach you, encourage you, love on you, guide you, or just plain have fun with you. And even the things you think you're missing out on, He'll provide that, too. Case in point. SE, a precious 9 year old going on 30, and one of her big brothers, C, 11. They are in a family close to us who just moved back to the States this week. C decided he really wanted to take guitar lessons, but they needed to find a teacher, preferably one who spoke English. He didn't have to look any further than husband. And SE had been asking her mother to take ballet lessons, and instead of having to miss out on an aspect of life that seems so normal to Americans, and so inaccessible to us living overseas, SE was able to take rudimentary ballet lessons from me. Of course all that blessing talk was about myself, because I never thought how lucky I'd be to get to do something so cool. It was so much fun for me, and to be able to teach something that I love, it's a great opportunity. So like I said, the boss will provide ways to encourage us.

SE began the lessons back in January, and on March 22, we had a recital. Yes, that's only 2 months to not only learn ballet steps but string a dance together. And SE, the prodigy, did it beautifully and professionally. We moved all the furniture out of our Yellow Room and about 15 people came to our place to watch her dance not one, but two dances. I was so proud of her! (these are all pics from the recital. As you would guess, ballet shoes and tutus aren't what you'd call readily available here, so we made do)

We had snacks afterwards, because I wouldn't be a good SB if I didn't offer food at function, even if the function did involve dancing.

High Today in the Capital: 95; High today in Paris: 67

P.S. Nothing has changed, I still love getting comments... :)

i heart alan jackson

2007-03-25T01:06:00.000-07:00

This week, my heart rate has been higher than normal, according to the cardio machines at the gym. Yesterday, while I was doing the EFX, they had that awful techno music playing, like always. One of the workers went over and changed the CD, and what came out of the speakers? "It's 5 o'clock Somewhere," by Alan Jackson! I was so happy. Where it came from, I don't know. I'll probably never hear it there again, but for a few minutes it was great. I checked my heart rate, and guess what? It had dropped to normal.

I love hearing the music of my heart language.

new blog

2007-03-23T05:19:00.000-07:00

(I'm still gonna blog here mainly.) But for my co-workers, I've created a new blog that is an entertainment review site for here in the Capital. I'd love for it to become a discussion between us about the places we like and don't like, because I am always looking for good new places to try out and see, but I just never know what's good or worth checking out. So please comment on that blog so we can help each other out. Even those of you who don't live here but travel here frequently can benefit. What's a travel budget without a place to spend it? :)

www.capitalfun.blogspot.com

rules of the road

2007-03-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

The rules of driving in this country are a bit...different than those of American roads. I'm sure so many of you from my hometown have received that forwarded email about the rules of driving in that big city. It's funny, and it's so true. I know I can't contend with that author's creativity, but I thought I'd post a few of the rules of the road in case you lost your mind and decided to visit us and take a rental car out for a spin.

Wrong Turns: In case you take the wrong "exit" off of a major road, there is no need to panic. Simply put you car in reverse, dodge the traffic coming at you, and back your car up until you reach the correct road upon which you want to travel.

U-turns: Similar to this are u-turns under freeways, or flyovers as they are called here. Even though the u-turn is physically designed for only one-way traffic, if you are wanting to save time but are on the opposite side of the u-turn it is perfectly okay for you to drive through it as well. Of course then it's not really a "u" but that doesn't defeat the purpose. Don't forget to honk though, that actually is important.

Horn Usage: Speaking of honking, it is an integral cog in the wheel of traffic flow here. Since driving in lanes is optional here (despite the roadsigns that encourage "Lane Driving is Sane Driving"), it is important to honk. A lot. This way, you can tell all the other cars, "Hello. I'm here." And the other cars do the same, and awareness of others has reached a level of utopia - albeit a very loud one.

Light Usage: Another way to be aware of each other is found in the mountains. If you are driving at night in the mountains, you don't always know if another car is going to come around the curve. So the method of choice is to just simply turn off your headlights. If you can still see some lights, then a car is coming. Luckily, I don't have the answer to the question, "What happens if both cars use this method?"

Right-away: No need to watch out for walkers. Pedestrians don't have the rightaway. They will watch out for themselves. Same goes the for the hundreds of cyclists on the roads. They know to watch out for themselves. Basically, if a vehicle is smaller than yours, you don't need to pay any attention. Only drive carefully around those vehicles that are larger than your own. Obey the size dichotomy of the road, and you will do just fine.

Beware the Bovine: There is one exception to this rule, and that is the cow. Now, your car may be bigger than the bull, but the animal in question doesn't understand these rules of the road, or he has learned through experience that he will be safe no matter where he walks. There is no need for an "I Brake for Cows" bumper sticker, because everyone does that already.

Or...Pretty Much Beware All Animals: There are other animals to watch for as well, but still not near as common as the cow. Last weekend, husband and I were on our way home from dinner when we saw another large animal in the mix on the roads...an elephant. Our friends who were driving their car stopped and let us take pics of the elephant, whose driver graciously posed for some pics before taking off. Where he was headed, we don't know, but I do know one thing - even the man driving an elephant knows and obeys these rules of the road.

your ticket to cricket

2007-03-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

If I could bottle up this weather and sell it, I'd be a millionaire. I realize that in about 2 weeks, the weather will be considered nothing short of hot, but right now, with a high of 88 and the morning sun holding the promise of warmth and a summer breeze, it's perfect. I feel like I should be heading out to the lake.

Onto international news. I know it's probably not even close to your radar in the states, but right now, the Cricket World Cup is going on. Cricket mania is in full force - everywhere I turn, there are TVs on with either a match playing or news of a just finished or upcoming match. Everyone was so bummed yesterday that their team lost, but they're hoping for a win tonight.

So husband likes cricket. He bonds with the guys here by watching cricket with them. I have tried to like it, because I mean, it looks so much like baseball. And I love baseball. But unfortunately, it's nothing like baseball. I don't understand a thing about it. It's like a foreign language, and we all know my woes of learning one language; I don't have the room in my brain to learn cricketese too. But for the sake of the world cup, I just googled a summary of the rules, and here's what I found at wikipedia:

Cricket is a bat and ball sport played between two teams, usually of eleven players each. A cricket match is played on a grass field (which is usually roughly oval), in the centre of which is a flat strip of ground 22 yards long, called a pitch. At each end of the pitch is a set of three parallel wooden stakes (known as stumps) driven into the ground, with two small crosspieces (known as bails) laid on top of them. This wooden structure is called a wicket. A player from the fielding team (the bowler) bowls a hard, fist-sized cork-centred leather ball from one wicket towards the other. The ball usually bounces once before reaching a player from the opposing team (the batsmen), who defends the wicket from the ball with a wooden cricket bat. The batsman, if he or she does not get out, may then run between the wickets, exchanging ends with the other batsman (the "non-striker"), who has been standing in an inactive role near the bowler's wicket, to score runs. The other members of the bowler's team stand in various positions around the field as fielders. The match is won by the team that scores more runs.

Got it now? Yeah, me neither.

arrogance

2007-03-12T03:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had chai with Doctor and Auntie. They had some friends visiting, a man and his grown daughter. This man had lived in the states for several years, studying and working. Not to generalize, but a lot of South Asians are knowledge seekers, and he was typical in that regard. He was very intelligent, and told me all about Europe and the foundation of different languages. He even told some American history, and if you know me at all, you know I love history. So he's telling me things that your average American 6th grader would know, like that New England was the early colony of the British and the original US flag had 13 stars representing the 13 states. I was so impressed that he knew so much about a country that wasn't even his that I nodded along happily, encouraging him. Then he said, "Of course, now there are 52 stars because there are 52 states." My nodding stopped. Since both he and Doctor are elders, they are to be highly respected in this culture, so I didn't correct him. But Doctor looked at me and asked, "Is he right?" and I said hesitantly, "Actually, there are only 50 states..." and this man shook his head and said, "No I am positive there are 52 states. Hawaii was the 51st, and Puerto Rico was the 52nd." I felt like I was talking to Joey on Friends when they were playing that name-all-the-states game and he was convinced there were 56 states, South Oregon being among them. Anyway, back to the scene at Doctor's house. After some pressing from Doctor I had to say that no, Puerto Rico is not a state. I did say that Hawaii was the last state, so then that got us talking about Alaska. They both told me they remembered Alaska becoming a state long before the 1940s. (not true, but I didn't correct them because they didn't ask) I just found it humorous that they were so arrogant about their knowledge of America.

However I think it's pretty cool that they knew so much. I can name maybe 15 of the 28 states here in this country that I live in. Maybe. And I just now had to google how many states there are total. :) If you were to ask me about their history, or which one became a state last, forget it. So considering a few extremely minor details, their knowledge, if not their ability to concede to an American's firsthand knowledge, is pretty impressive.

And that makes me think of the arrogance we have in the states about other countries. How many times have you heard this statement: "Well, if they would just eat the cows, they wouldn't starve." Even I've said this growing up! Religion views notwithstanding, a cow provides so much more nutrition left alive than killed for the meat. And besides, knowing that cows eat this here, would you want to eat their meat anyway?

I didn't type that to criticize America; on the contrary, I wrote it so that this wouldn't seem as if I'm making fun of Doctor and his friend. Even though they, and the countless other South Asians, believe that they know more about America than I do, we ourselves have lots to learn about other cultures as well.

the day the bird went berserk...

2007-03-08T03:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I came home and husband was very excited to tell me about our first non-human, non-insect house invasion - a pigeon! It somehow flew in and then was trapped in our bedroom. Husband had to help it out, but of course took a couple of pictures first. And of course, the pigeon left us a present. I'm just glad it was a pigeon and not anything of the rodent family.

festival of colors

2007-03-03T22:54:00.000-08:00

The people in the Capital are a lot more serious about their holi celebrations than those in the Himalayas. The main reason is because it's still really, really cold in the mountains in March, and here, it feels very spring-like. Holi is celebrated during a full moon, so last year it was Mid-March. We celebrated with Priya and her family, and we used only powdered dye, and then raced back inside to change and wrap up, because it started to hail. But we watched on TV how the crazies in the Capital were dancing around as people hosed them down in dye and water.

Well this year, we got to see that for ourselves! Not that we ourselves are celebrating, but I've been outside a bit watching everything going on. All week, we've been dodging water balloons! I've only been hit once, from one of the neighbor boys across the street, but husband has already been hit 3 times! The boys (and we've even seen girls!) will hang out on their balconies, waiting for innocent passers-by to pelt with water balloons from their vantage point! My friend, Jaya, told me to not even think of going outside on the actual day of holi! Here are pics of the snipers in action:I took this right before he dumped a bucket of water on some kids!

Our next door neighbors' son. Notice the water gun, poised in the air!

But this morning, when I heard screams and shouts in the park behind our house, I just couldn't resist. I thought I'd climb to the roof to get some pics, but when I snuck up there, the boy who lives in our building was up there, filling up water balloons. Luckily he didn't see me, so I quietly retraced my steps. I opened our back gate and took a few pics before retreating pretty quickly when our next door neighbor came running up with a water gun:

Then I watched from the garden as brightly colored boys and men walked up and down our street. Here are the pics I've taken so far today as I've cowered under roofs and awnings, like a spy in a paintball game:

holi cow!

2007-03-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

On our way out to eat last night to celebrate a friend's bday, we saw an unusual sight on our street. This weekend is the celebration of holi, the festival of colors. It celebrates the arrival of spring, and people buy powdered dye to throw on each other. On our street, someone had made a little bonfire which had drawn 6 cows to it. And then someone had decorated the cows with the dye! Holi cow!

Pier Ek

2007-03-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

Apparently Pier 1 has a factory here that makes all the wonderful and cute things you see in the states. And when they make defected products, they go from the factory to the little markets in the Capital. And so yesterday, my friend took me and another friend over to a market where the Pier 1 reject pillow covers are sold. (Thanks for that, AS!) Click here to see the ones sold in the stores in the states. For $35. A piece. Now look at the pic of the same pillows, sitting in my living room, after buying them for $4.50. Total. I love this country.

lessons learned early in 2007

2007-02-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before how life in South Asia is starting to seem quite normal to me. I used to blog all the time about the big and small differences I noticed between South Asia and America, but the longer I live over here, the more normal everything seems. Just yesterday, as husband and I sat at a red light and saw at least 20 bicycle riders at this major freeway-like intersection with us and other cars, trucks, mopeds, and rickshaws, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It wasn't until a horse galloped by, with no rider, that we noticed how weird it was that we represented several centuries worth of transportation all at one intersection.

But I am still experiencing new things here and there that make me remember that this place is a lot different than the country I am from. So with that, I'm doing a new top 10. In no particular order, Top 10 things I have learned in the past 6 weeks:

1. Bubble baths take ingenuity, but nothing 2 geysers, a bucket, a tub, and water boiling on the stove can't handle.
2. Even if your electrical box is sparking like an invisible man is welding it, you will not die.
3. As sad as it is, beggars will apply fake blood to different appendages to gain mercy-money.
4. Super Bowl game day takes a lot less effort when it comes on live at 4:30am.
5. Mail comes a lot slower when you didn't tip the mailman at Christmas.
6. Even florists in South Asia don't miss an opportunity to mark up roses 150% on Valentine's Day.
7. The FCC looks like Howard Stern compared to this government's communications watchdog. They completely shut down an entire TV channel because of an afterhours raunchy show, World's Sexiest Commercials, which happens to be the channel that the Amazing Race comes on.
8. Ordering groceries over the phone just isn't worth it when you have to spell out every item. C for cricket, H for Himalayas, E for England...
9. Playing a tuba and riding a camel can be done at the same time.
10. Explaining why I have freckles is hard to do in another language.

there's no substitute

2007-02-05T22:53:00.000-08:00

Today in language class, our regular teacher, Teacher-ji, was sick and so we had a sub. Substitute-ji made class...interesting. I did learn the equivalent for "y'all", so that was great. And he really helped out with some work words that we had never learned before, so even better. But he went off on the craziest tangents. At one point, he started telling us, in Greek, the different types of love! Not that knowing the difference between eros, philia, and agape isn't important, but I wasn't quite sure how that fit in with language learning. To describe eros, he said he would draw us a picture. He drew a wavy line, then said, No, that's not it, and erased it. Then he repeated that wavy line/erasure step 4 times before he finished what he was drawing. I thought surely this must be some intricate and detailed picture he is trying to draw, what with all the erasing and re-dos. After close inspection, we realized Substitute-ji had drawn that oh-so intricate and detailed symbol - a heart. I could only tell it was a heart because of the arrow going through it.

Substitute-ji is as nice as he can be, but when he started singing a song in English in the middle of class, I found myself wishing for a miraculous healing for Teacher-ji. About halfway through the song, Substitute-ji must've come to his senses, because he stopped abruptly with this What am I doing? look on his face. I've never had that happen in a class setting before, so it was pretty entertaining. I hope Teacher-ji is back tomorrow for class.

the newest Texan...

2007-02-05T22:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the world, Micah! My best friend just had a baby yesterday, and I'm so sad I missed out on that. But Auntie Lindsey did email me pics so I get to see him. Isn't he so cute, with his chubby red cheeks and fuzzy blonde hair?? I am so proud of Sarah and Terry for making such a beautiful baby boy!

lessons in English

2007-01-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

Perfect tense. Gerund nouns. Post positions. Agentive markers. Transitive Verbs. Intransitive, too. Oh yes my friends, these are actual parts of language, like adjective and noun, only harder and more complicated. Who would have thought that these would actually be applicable past 5th grade language class? Sweet Ms. Daily tried to warn me, but I sure didn't listen.

Husband and I are taking language classes at an actual school. It's fun to learn with 4 others, because we all make really funny mistakes, and it makes for comic relief when you have to ask for the thousandth time what the heck a compulsory infinitive is.

We joke about how we've learned so much more about English from learning a foreign language. It's so true, but living here, we learn a new English anyway. For example, if I were to call a repair shop and ask for a plumber to come on Wednesday to fix my water heater, they may or may not understand me. However, if I asked for a plum-ber to come on Wed-nes-day to fix my geyser, I'd be getting somewhere. And don't get me started on the British English. Also I bet you didn't know that most likely you buy some capsicum, courgettes or ladyfingers at least once a week. (bell peppers, zucchini or okra) Now to be fair, some of the vegetable sellers know our word for zucchini, but even then it wouldn't be pronounced with a 'z' but a 'j'. Another example, the first time I asked if someone had a garbage can, I was met with a blank look. It took several attempts before I found out the correct term is dustbin. Finally, add in the incorrect grammar we use daily to make our sentences more understandable to an ESL speaker, usually with an accent as well, and you've got us speaking an almost entirely different language. Okay not entirely, but I have learned how to correctly use words like proudy, foodie, and crowdy. Does that qualify as half-lingual?

yea for south asia!

2007-01-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a holiday that celebrates when major nations around the world recognized this country as a sovereign nation. We celebrated by going to watch the big parade. The day was pretty funny because our plans were changed all day. We couldn't go to the main show because they don't allow cameras there, and we didn't want to go without a camera. Our thinking on that was we'll have next year to go without a camera. So we tried for the end of the route, which seemed like a good idea at first. But after going through security, we were told we couldn't bring cameras through there, either. So we began walking. We didn't know where we were walking, but we had quite a big group with us, so walking wasn't too bad. Our friends had the idea to try to climb to the top of a building and sit on the roof and watch the parade, but the buildings had been closed. After quite a few turns and questions, we finally found a road where the parade went by. This place, since it was more out of the way, allowed cameras, and we found a place to stand. We didn't have any flags though, and husband and I wanted to wave around some flags and show some spirit. I saw a little girl with a flag, so I decided to go ask the woman that was with her where they had bought it. I even practiced how to say it first..."Where did you buy the flag?" When I questioned, she immediately responded in perfect English, "Oh her school gave it to her." She asked me to sit with them, and fed me juice and french fries. She was great to talk to and invited me back, so I am looking forward to hanging out with her and her family.

After waiting about an hour, the parade came down the road! It was so cool, I had never been so proud of this country before. There's just something about parades. I had read in the paper several articles on the days leading up to this day that the people, while very patriotic, are not outspoken about their love for the country. I witnessed this first hand while the military men from different states marched down the road. We crazy Americans were yelling and clapping, though, and it wore off on the those standing around us. Eventually they began to cheer and clap as well. It was so cool to see the different states' military. One state known for their turban-wearing came by with big bright red turbans on every man. Another state, located in the desert, came by riding on camels. And the most surprising one to me, the military men from the Himalayas came by with snow-skis strapped to their backs! The military here marches with very swinging arm motions, so that was interesting to see. Also, each unit had a band following them. The desert brigade's band also rode on the camels! It was definitely a first for me to see a man playing a tuba riding on a camel. The different states and some government organizations had made floats as well representing what they do. They were very creative, and we were all blown away by how well put together everything was. Some states had tigers and jungles, some had temples, some had people dancing or making clay pots. One, representing some kind of national safety organization, had people going through a metal detector! Kinda weird for a parade float, but it did give them visibility.

After the parade, a family invited us over for chai and sweets, so all 9 of us trooped over to their house. It was actually in a fire station.

Here are some pics from the parade. Remember, these are just a few of the floats!

2007-01-22T02:52:00.000-08:00

You know you've been out of America for a long time when you play a word association game like Catch Phrase. Our friends hosted a game night last Saturday night and we would never say no to a game night. So a group of us, mostly newbies who have been in South Asia less than 2 weeks, played Catch Phrase. There were some of us, though, who have lived here a little too long. I say this because, well I'll just give one example that speaks for itself. When a person gives the clue of, "You take medicine for this..." it's not normal to shout out, "Diarrhea! Giardia!" Yet sadly, that is the first thing to pop into our heads.

The answer, by the way, was a migraine.

the best dog that ever lived

2007-01-16T22:16:00.000-08:00

During her short 10 months of life, Chini brought so much joy to all of us who knew her. Any dog we ever take into our home again will have much to live up to. She passed away on Monday, the 15th, from acute pancreatitis (http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/depancrea.html). Fortunately, it was a quick disease and even quicker death, which brought little suffering to our Chini-Bear. It only took 4 days to take its toll on her little body.
Many of our friends in the Capital came by or called to see how we were doing in the last few days while her condition was so critical. We love that they recognize what she meant to us. And Chini was gracious even on the day of her death. When J&S, our supervisors, came by to see how we were holding up, Chini rose, with near-exhaustion, to greet "her" visitors. Her hospitality and friendliness are just a few of things we're going to miss from the best dog that ever lived.

With no monkeys around, bugs became her favorite prey here in the Capital. Not only would she pounce, paw, and kill the bugs, but she would literally take them in her mouth, shake them, and then roll around on their dead bodies. Is that dedication to the job or what?

On Christmas, one of our "nephews" taught her how to open her own presents!

People often commented on Rani Chini (Queen Chini) because she loved to snuggle in pretty pillows. I think more than anything, I'll miss snuggling with her. Believe me, you've never seen a dog snuggle with humans the way sweet Chini did.

I realize to some this may seem a bit cheesy to be so heartbroken over a dog, but believe me, she was way more than a dog to us. She was nothing short of family, and we miss her. A lot.

international marketing

2007-01-13T02:46:00.001-08:00

Since I was an international business major in college, the cultural differences I see in business over here always interest me. Especially the obvious part of it in marketing. Some of the big brands in the states have made a niche here in Asia, some that you would expect like Coke and Lay's, and then some others that I am so completely surprised to see over here.

No matter what though, they've made changes necessary to their products and marketing to stay in business over here, and even corner some markets. Lay's chips have the "American" flavor of sour cream and onion, but they also have a very popular Masala flavor. Cheetos over here taste nothing like they do in the states. The McDonald's here obviously has no Big Mac or even a cheeseburger, but it does have the McVeg Burger and the Maharaja Mac (made with chicken, of course). Pizza Hut just came out with a whole new line of South Asian pizzas, which honestly look really gross (do you like chickpeas and cottage cheese on your pizza?), but hey, they obviously did their research. And I liked the commercials for it anyway, with a famous Bollywood character telling everyone egjactly how good the new pizzas were.

These changes really don't sound so weird to me, maybe because I've been exposed to them for a year and a half now. But when we went to Thailand I was definitely surprised at how much the Thai people like corn. At KFC. In their sundaes. Hmmm...tasty? I tried to convince husband to taste the corn sundae, because he's always up for a good experiment. But even he shied away. When we were at the beach, ladies came around selling corn on the cob. On the beach! We didn't pass that up, and neither did a lot of people. I've never seen so much corn eaten on the beach in my life. Actually before that day, I'd never seen any corn eaten on the beach. We also noticed that Lay's had two special Thai flavors...lobster and nori seaweed. We did try the seaweed Lay's and I must say I like them.

I think McDonald's does the products the best, though. In metric system ruled Europe, they realized the quarter pounder would mean nothing, so they changed the name. I mentioned above some of the fun South Asian varieties of burgers, and in Thailand they had the new rice burger. Like I said, I love how culture changes brands, names, products and strategies. I always look for these things when I'm in a new country.

Anyone up for a rice burger?

last post for awhile

2006-12-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas yesterday! It was fun filled from our early morning webcam with husband's family to the late night one with my family. In between we went to two different places. First we were invited by over for Christmas breakfast by some very close friends who live in our neighborhood. They are pretty much our family away from home. We sang happy birthday, ate a scrumptious breakfast, and opened presents together. And laughed a lot! Then we all went over to a coworker's house for a huge Christmas lunch. After lunch was the most fun part - the White Elephant game! Now, some of your regular White Elephant gifts were present - candles, ornaments, etc. But the hottest items were actually gifts that if you opened in the states, you'd say, Um, thanks? Things like Skittles, Reese's PB Cups, and the hottest item of all, Dr. Pepper! You should have heard the hoots and hollers when that six pack of Dr. Pepper was unwrapped. I was too busy laughing to realize the actual length of the game, but it went on for awhile. One package I opened, mint Hershey's kisses, made me laugh because it was accompanied with a note exclaiming, "Straight from the US!" I ended up with Velveeta and Rotel, and husband ended up with a Nalgene bottle. Not a bad day in our household. Chini received 5 presents! I think she's more popular than we are.

We leave tomorrow night on our Visa run and retreat, and a little vacation tacked on. We'll return in two weeks. Everyone have a happy and safe New Year!

happy Christmas!

2006-12-25T06:51:00.000-08:00

As they say here, Happy Christmas!!

mocha caramel cookies

2006-12-24T03:24:00.000-08:00

Since they were requested, I will post the recipe for anyone who's interested. I can't remember where I got the recipe from...kraft.com maybe? Oh and if you don't have a cake icer thingy, I would recommend you close this browser right now unless you really want to spend 3 hours in the kitchen decorating these with a spoon like I did last year. If you don't have a mixer, no biggie; I didn't last year and it was fine. I also had no cookie cutters and that isn't too hard to do either. But take my word on the cake icer.

Mocha Caramel Cookies
(makes around 30 cookies)

1 C butter, softened
1/3 C powdered sugar
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 t instant espresso coffee powder or 2 t instant coffee crystals*
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 2/3 C flour
Icing Instructions below**

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl beat first 3 ingredients with a electric mixer on med speed until fluffy. Dissolve coffee in vanilla; add to butter mixture. Beat in cocoa powder. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. By hand, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover; chill about 1 hour or until firm.
2. On a floured surface, roll one half of dough at a time to 1/4"-3/8" thickness. Cut into shapes. Place cookies on greased cookie sheets.
3. Bake in a 325F oven for 12-15 minutes or until set but not over browned. Cool completely before icing.

*I don't know what crystals are. I used that instant chickory stuff (Nestle Gold), and then just ground it a bit smaller.

**To make caramel, just get condensed milk, keep it in the can, and boil it in hot water for about 2 hours. Make sure you keep adding water to keep it covered. Careful, the can will be hot! Afterwards, put the caramel into a cake icer and decorate away. Melt some chocolate chips with a tiny bit of butter or shortening to also use for icing. I've heard the caramel thing can be done with 3 steams to the pressure cooker, but I've never tried that.

If you have access to packaged vanilla caramel candies, you can melt those with butter and milk over low heat on the stove to make the icing as well.